Catcher In The Rye Holden Goes Through A Fall From His Innocence Essa

Catcher in the Rye: Holden Goes Through a Fall From His Innocence Jerome David Salinger, born in New York City on January 1, 1919, may not have written many novels in which he is recognized for. Although ,he did write one novel, which brought him fame. In many of Salinger's short stories and especially his most well-known novel he writes about how the main character falls from his or her own innocence then rises to face their challenges. In J.D. Salinger's , Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield goes through a fall from his innocence throughout his journey to his safe haven, home. One example of when Holden fell from his own innocence is when he is in the room with Phoebe and he can't name anything he likes. Holden reacts to this question by saying, "Boy, she was depressing me"(Salinger 169). The only three things he can name that he liked were Allie, James Castle, and sitting there chewing the fat with Phoebe. The reason this is a time when Holden falls is because he gets really depressed when he can barely think of anything he liked. The reason I think Holden gets so depressed is because two of the people he names are dead. That's why he is so lonely all the time. Holden finds things in common with Allie and James Castle and since they're both dead he feels, in the back of his mind, that he should also be dead which makes him depressed. Another example of a fall for Holden is when he realizes he can't erase even half the "fuck you's" in the world. This doesn't sound very important, but it is symbolic because he realizes that he can not be the catcher in the rye. His dream of shielding all the innocent children from society's harsh elements has been ruined by this one statement. Now because of this realization he comes to the conclusion that he can not shield everybody, not even half of everybody. An example of Holden trying to be the catcher in the rye is when Holden first sees the "fuck you" on the wall. Holden said, It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other kids would see it, and how they'd wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them- all cockeyed, naturally what it meant, and how they'd think about it even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever'd written it.(Salinger 201) Holden's final fall comes when he is in the Egyptian Tomb in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When Holden is deep within the Egyptian Tomb he feels he is in a safe and sanitary place free from society's cruel components until he sees the "fuck you" on the wall. When he sees this he starts to think about committing suicide because he feels like living is just a waste. During this time he spent in the tomb he decides on life or death. After going unconscious for a couple of minutes he decides to live because, "Death thus becomes not a gesture of defiance but of surrender"(Miller 17). Once Holden wakes up he feels better and symbolically chooses life. This is when Holden begins to rise. When Phoebe is on the carousel Holden wants to protect her but restrains himself, "The thing is with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but its bad to say anything to them"(Miller 17-18)When Holden says this his dreams of being catcher in the rye vanish. He realizes that all children must fall, like he himself did. In conclusion, The Catcher in the Rye is a story of a boy falling from innocence to enter adulthood. An example of J.D. Salinger using symbolism to show Holden's Holding on to his childhood is in his name, Holden(Hold On). This is referring to Holden not wanting to enter society and all it's phonies. Today, when somebody holds on to their innocence they are often considered outcasts; and in the persons mind everyone who considers him this, is a phony, like how Holden saw everyone. After Holden Caulfield returns to his native New York and rents a room in a sleazy hotel, he makes a date with Sally Hayes. Before this date, Holden finds himself wandering the streets of the naked city. He is feeling depressed and finds himself on Broadway trying to purchase a record for his sister. After making

Does Haig deserve the title The Butcher of the Somme Essay Example

Does Haig deserve the title The Butcher of the Somme Essay Example Does Haig deserve the title The Butcher of the Somme Paper Does Haig deserve the title The Butcher of the Somme Paper Essay Topic: History In this essay, I will try to figure out what historians all over the world have been talking about for years: Does Sir Douglas William Haig deserve the title The Butcher of the Somme? I will start by correctly defining the term, butcher, before analysing the case for and against this statement. I will finally conclude my essay by weighing up the two cases and comparing the definitions of butcher to his actions. To say that Haig was the hero of the victory at the Somme, although the opinion of the people of the time, must now be looked back on with great scepticism. You cannot deny that Haig made the correct tactical decision to make an offensive at the Somme, in order to take the pressure of Verdun, and it is true to say that he achieved his target objective in doing so. However, it is inexcusable, whatever the gain, to throw away life so carelessly as Haig did. It is also to be noted, that Haigs attitude after the Somme, was that it was a worthy sacrifice, and an honourable way for a man to die. In other words, he didnt care about the loses, as long as he got the praise at the end of it all. It is obvious that to tell the men to walk across no-mans land must be looked at as the ultimate cause for the slaughter of the Somme. It was Haig who gave the order to walk and formulated the strategy for the offensive. His plan was flawed. Firstly he didnt consider all possibilities, the only outcome that he had planned and accommodated for was that everything went according to plan. This was clearly not the case as he didnt consider that the Explosions under the German line were all going to be synchronized, or that the Germans might survive in their dugouts. Also, and even more disastrous, he didnt have a plan B. What this means is, suggesting that not everything goes well, and say the Germans did survive in their dugouts, he didnt have any alternative plan to revert to, he just kept on with the same disastrous strategy, and judging by the fact that he continued with the same plan for 2 months, it seems unlikely that he had a plan B for any outcome, which means that he was relyin g on everything going according to plan a very bad tactical decision. Haig could have easily changed his plans when he realized they werent having any affect and he was throwing lives away, for example (and this is my plan): Began the bombardment again and this time ran across, the barbed wire was a problem but the Irish got through the first time when they ran, so it was definitely possible. And also, the whole objective of the Somme was to take the pressure off Verdun, so once the Germans had dragged half their army up to deal with the Somme, the British had no need to attack them, they could just sit and wait, the Germans werent going anywhere because they knew that they would be vulnerable and could be attacked at any time with all the British soldiers just waiting, the last thing the Germans were going to do was just leave and go back to Verdun, and if they did, (which would be crazy) then the offensive could begin, and attack the weakened lines. However, these plans were obviously made when looking back on the battle, Haig wouldnt have had the lu xury of hindsight. Although, he is to blame for not changing his tactics when the 1st day had been such a failure. When something you try clearly doesnt work, why keep doing it at the cost of lives? After all, the only reason that Haig gave the order to walk was because he was under the false impression that all the Germans had been killed in the bombardment and the men would be walking straight through the trenches to Berlin. It is for this reason that the men were carrying 30 pounds of pack on their shoulders, and were told that they were walking towards empty trenches. However, when this clearly wasnt the case, and it was obvious that they were not walking towards empty trenches, why carry on walking if the only reason for doing so is now void? Haigs mentality is also to be questioned, as his attitude towards human life is simply shocking. His attacking initiative ideas where men are simply thrown over the top on little raiding parties of 10 or 15 people, were madness. Every group died and was just another target for the Germans to shoot down. They had absolutely no hope of succeeding and he knew it. He was just throwing away lives when he knew all who went over the top would die. This may or may not have created an attacking spirit, but what good is an attacking spirit when the men are sent over the top to die? I cant see how the deaths of their friends could possibly create an attacking spirit, the only thing it would create was the impression that there General was a complete maniac. There is no use in raising the morale of troops who are going to die anyway, and surely victories would create a better morale boost for the men than constant casualties. Imagine this: You are a middle aged lady in England and you are proud to say to all your friends that your husband has gone to fight for his country. You are then informed that he has been killed in action. After the war, you find out that he was killed in a raiding party, all to raise the morale slightly of men on the front line. You think to yourselfoh, wont they be happy! Im sure his life was a worthy sacrifice and the other men had high spirits for the next week, to know that another 15 people had been sent over the top and died. Haig said, the day before the offensive: The men are in splendid spirits. Several have said that they have never before seen so instructed and informed of the nature of the operation before them. The barbed wire has never been so well cut, nor the artillery preparation so thorough. All the commanders are full of confidence. This statement in itself tells the story. Haig was either miss-informed or delusional, and despite the fact that the wire was clearly not cut, he sent the men out anyway.

Indefatigable

Indefatigable Indefatigable Indefatigable By Maeve Maddox A reader asks about the words fatigable, defatigable, and indefatigable: Indefatigable apparently is of the same/identical meaning [as defatigable]. Then why is the in used as a prefix of defatigable, when in is generally used to invert the meaning, as in incorrigible (antonym of corrigible)? The reader says that he understands fatigable to refer to a person â€Å"who can be fatigued† and defatigable to a person â€Å"who can be treated for exhaustion.† The reader has misunderstood the meaning of de- in indefatigable. Note: The pronunciation of indefatigable is IN-duh-FAT-i-guh-buhl. Fatigable and defatigable mean the same thing. They have Latin equivalents: fatigare verb: to weary, tire, fatigue. fatigatio noun: weariness, fatigue. defatigare verb: to weary, fatigue, tire. defatigatio noun: exhaustion, weariness, fatigue. The Latin prefix de- is used with more than one meaning. One of these meanings, in both Latin and in English, is this: de- (prefix): down to the bottom, completely, thoroughly. Both fatigable and defatigable connote weariness, but the weariness expressed by defatigable is total exhaustion. Latin also has source words for the form indefatigable: indefatigabilis adjective: untiring indefatigatus adjective: not tired A Google search produces about 22,000 results for defatigable, 114,000 for fatigable, and 708,000 for indefatigable. The Ngram Viewer shows a marked decline in the use of indefatigable in recent decades. Here are recent examples of the use of indefatigable on the Web: Indefatigable drive and charisma have made Maura Healey the states attorney general and the  one to watch in Massachusetts politics.   To some, millennials- those urban-dwelling, ride-sharing indefatigable social networkers- are engaged, upbeat and open to change. To others, they are narcissistic, lazy and self-centered. The marigolds are  indefatigable. The geraniums are lush and valiant.   The  indefatigable  Vermont Sen. Bernie  Sanders, of course, led the pack. Indefatigable is the opposite of defatigable and means, â€Å"incapable of being fatigued.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should Know20 Pairs of One-Word and Two-Word FormsInspiring vs. Inspirational

Layers of the Atmosphere

Layers of the Atmosphere Earth is surrounded by its atmosphere, which is the body of air or gases that protects the planet and enables life. Most of our atmosphere is located close to Earths surface, where it is most dense. It has five distinct layers. Lets look at each, from closest to farthest from the Earth. Troposphere The layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth is the troposphere. It begins at the surface of the Earth and extends out to about 4 to 12 miles (6 to 20 km). This layer is known as the lower atmosphere. Its where weather happens and contains the air humans breathe.  The air of our planet is 79 percent nitrogen and just under 21 percent oxygen; the small amount remaining is composed of carbon dioxide and other gases. The temperature of the troposphere decreases with height. Stratosphere Above the troposphere is the stratosphere, which extends to about 31 miles (50 km) above the Earths surface. This layer is where the ozone layer exists and scientists send weather balloons. Jets fly in the lower stratosphere to avoid turbulence in the troposphere. Temperature rises within the stratosphere but still remains well below freezing. Mesosphere From about 31 to 53 miles (50 to 85 km)  above the surface of the Earth lies the mesosphere, where the air is especially thin and molecules are great distances apart. Temperatures in the mesosphere reach a low of -130 degrees Fahrenheit (-90 C). This layer is difficult to study directly; weather balloons cant reach it, and weather satellites orbit above it. The stratosphere and the mesosphere are known as the middle atmospheres. Thermosphere The thermosphere rises several hundred miles above the  Earths surface, from 56 miles (90 km) up to between 311 and 621 miles (500–1,000 km). Temperature is very much  affected by the sun here; it can be 360 degrees Fahrenheit hotter (500 C) during the day than at night. Temperature increases with height and can rise to as high as 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit (2000 C). Nonetheless, the air would feel cold because the hot molecules are so far apart. This layer is known as the upper atmosphere, and it is where the auroras occur (northern and southern lights). Exosphere Extending from the top of the thermosphere to 6,200 miles (10,000 km) above Earth is the exosphere, where weather satellites are. This layer has very few atmospheric molecules, which can escape into space. Some scientists disagree that the exosphere is a part of the atmosphere and instead classify it actually as a part of outer space. There is no clear upper boundary, as in other layers. Pauses Between each layer of the atmosphere is a boundary. Above the troposphere is the tropopause, above the stratosphere is the stratopause, above the mesosphere is the mesopause, and above the thermosphere is the thermopause. At these pauses, maximum change between the spheres occur. Ionosphere The ionosphere isnt actually a layer of the atmosphere but regions in the layers where there are ionized particles (electrically charged ions and free electrons), especially located in the mesosphere and thermosphere. The altitude of the ionospheres layers changes during the day and from one season to another.

Communication management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communication management - Case Study Example Being a cross-cultural undertaking involving a management team with widely varied backgrounds, the visiting team must be hosted in a manner that will not jeopardize the partnership before it even kicks off. This paper will design an action plan to implement the partnership whose objectives will include being aligned with corporate, community and personal values in a realistic, cost effective and socially acceptable context. A business merger or partnership can only be considered when the involved companies have a vision of benefiting from the combined business operations and consequently contributing to increased value for shareholders. It must be assumed that the idea of the partnership was hatched with the full knowledge of the rampant practice of software piracy in China. The first major task of the marketer would be to formulate an agenda for the merger to convince the market and the new partners of the commitment to alleviate such thoughts. Given the amount of revenue UR Softwar e Inc. has managed to generate within five years, it can safely be thought to be performing well and has a stable customer base. Linking up with ECVIC is advantageous because of their thorough knowledge of the Far East territory. Using their own history of success and ECVIC’s strength, the new partnership can give a guarantee of the genuine nature of their products. An effective marketing strategy targeting the Far East market would be based on websites, taking advantage of the over 550 million users of the internet in China in 2013. The marketer at UR Software Inc. needs to show the new partners how they will convert stocks from the respective individual firms to the resultant combined company. The action plan must be characterized by UR Software Inc.’s intention to reduce anxieties, eliminate fears and raise two firms’ levels of mutual trust. This requires an exhibition of the awareness of China’s adopted anti-monopoly law that was enacted in 2007, wher e competition authorities in China stepped up the enforcement of practices against competitiveness and mergers. The action plan needs to enhance the concepts of China’s Ministry of Commerce that heavily relies on behavioral remedies that underlie cases of mergers as well as those proposed by the European Commission that favor structural remedies. It is worth noting that China emphasizes on antitrust laws. In doing business in the Canadian and North American markets, the action plan will allow public interest to play roles only in clearly defined and exceptional circumstances. Since the merger is expected to affect prudential rules, media plurality, and public security, public interests must be considered in all the countries of potential operation as a long term agenda. Antitrust authorities must be allowed to follow transparent and explicit procedures. To maintain competitive levels in markets that may otherwise become too concentrated after the partnership, structural remed ies will have to de-invest in some of both the partners’ assets in favor of potential or actual competitors. The short term action plan would emphasize on behavioral remedies committed to engaging in particular conduct that will preserve conditions of competition immediately following the partnership. For instance, both partners will specify

Deaf In Prison Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Deaf In Prison - Assignment Example (4) According to recent research due to lack of adequate policies to protect inmates, many deaf prisoners are exposed to abuse from the other inmates as soon as they enter prison. Unlike other prisoners who have access to telephone and educations privileges, many penitentiary systems fail to offer deaf telephones and interpreter services for educational purposes among other essential services.(2) According to recent research, many deaf and hard of hearing inmates report that they are faced with difficulties of trying to express themselves in court and in prison. Many deaf prisoners are exposed to abuse from the other inmates as soon as they enter prison in the form of physical assault. (1) According to recent reports, disabled inmates are constantly abused by other prisoners aided by the fact that local, state and federal prison officials, blatantly fail to enforce laws aimed at protecting the deaf. In a recent court case, the court found evidence of prison system malfeasance for failing to inform deaf prisoners of their accommodations. Due to their inability to hear, these inmates often fail to respond to bells, instructions from prison guards and they get punished for their perceived insubordination. According to statistics, only half of spoken sounds are translated to sign language. (1) Majority of the U.S penitentiary systems are not handicap enabled for deaf prisoners. Deaf prisoners usually lack access to visual alarms and interpreter services for drug and alcohol counselling, parole, disciplinary and grievance hearings and mental health treatment. (3) Some of the measures proposed include implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Disabilities Education Act, which are to be implemented in all governmental institutions including prisons. The Supreme Court also ruled that prison systems would be held accountable for violating laws mandating them to inform deaf prisoners of their accommodation. Other

Good Faith and English Contract Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Good Faith and English Contract Law - Essay Example Good faith is vital concept in law and it is a prime essence in contractual dealings. Persons are expected to act in good faith for fair dealings in day-to-day business contracts. The concept of good faith has a large bearing on contract law as well as law of obligations. In contract law good faith is indispensable element. Though the contract is formed with free consent or free will good faith is inseparable from contract1. 1. An institutional competent dimension: When good faith is viewed from this dimension in England the institutions of the law, which are the courts, interpret good faith according to needs for rendering justice. Thereby giving room for arbitrary decisions. If the doctrine of good faith introduced in law of contract there would be judicial restraint, judges loose the liberty of interpreting the concept. Their discretionary powers are restricted. Simultaneously equitable flexibility is also affected. 2. Formal dimension: When we view the good faith in formal dimension it appears as vague. When it is vague it is difficult to define the good faith to introduce into contract law. The term good faith has vague meaning, lot of efforts are to made to define the good faith to make it as a statute. ... Presently the Judges use this term in various occasions in rendering the justice using their profound experience and after legitimate study of the case. The vagueness of the term is cured with their professional knowledge and profound experience before the benefit of good faith is extended to the deserved. 3. Substantive dimension: Substantive dimension refers to the contractual ethics. Contractual ethics imposes duty of good faith on the contracting parties. When such ethics are broken what is remedy Like any ethics contracting ethics are moral of the individuals, which they are supposed to keep up. The contract law does not interfere on morals. When good faith, which is vital element in business contracts is left to the ethics, which is not protected under the contract law the interest of the parties is at risk. This risk can be avoided by introducing the doctrine of good faith into contract law. Historically good faith functioned as a binding element between people by formless contracts (pacta nuda) even if there was no written contracts, to confer priority to the intention of parties and contractual terms than their literal meaning. Such contracts inclined to substantive fairness qua the intended meaning of the contract. Contract is defined in English contract law: Since the good faith is a vital element in all contracts it is essential to have a brief view of what how contract is confined under the definition in English law. As per this definition, the essential ingredients of contract are a) consensus ad idem, b) consideration, c) legal object, d) capacity to contract. Apart from these, another ingredient i.e. intention of the parties is also important

Industrial Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Industrial Law - Essay Example How can a nation with thousands of years of history out of which just a short while ago she ruled the waves draw lessons conclusively from a nation born out of Britain's own bosom only few centuries ago notwithstanding the bloody conception Nonetheless, Britain has good reason to approach and compare her performances with her staunchest ally. Just as in the case of every other issue, on a subject like trade unionism there is nothing so fulfilling as a comparison with the best, even if the lessons learnt turn out to be infeasible. (James J. Brudney) There is a strong universal feeling hitherto unexpressed, especially among business circles that the world could do without trade unions. It is felt that trade unionism, like the socialist form of governance, has been a failure. Britain's tryst with collective bargaining has been particularly phlegmatic and uneventful. It is difficult to prove with any amount of conviction that something good has come out of trade unions. On the contrary, the identity of trade union has been riddled with anti-social activities, strikes, lockouts, go-slow tactics, union rivalries and even mayhem and murders. It may be for these reasons that nobody is really keen to be in the forefront when it comes to formations of trade unions in new corporations. Nonetheless, it must be granted that the presence of trade unions has had a transforming effect on society. Thanks to the principles of collective bargaining, there is more appreciation for the working class, better salaries and working conditions, better living standards, more purchasing power, and recognition and justice for the less privileged and the exploited. Therefore, the two extreme opposites of good and evil have dogged the trade union movement for such a long, disenchanting time that it stigmatized anyone to bring it up until the time was ripe for issue-based confrontations. One cannot but regard with a sense of amusement and awe the manifestation of potentials and capabilities hidden in the portals of trade unions. Come elections and employer-employee agreements, there is a beeline of the unlikeliest visitors humming and buzzing about damp, lackadaisical enclaves of the trade unionists hangouts. The role of trade unions in Europe The activities of trade unions have witnessed sharp decline in Europe. The trade union density is worst hit in France where it is merely 10% now. It is slightly better elsewhere in the continent. The position is much better in Britain where it is 44%. This is proof that in spite of claims of deteriorating working conditions by trade unions, Britain has one of the best employment regulation policies in the world. The fall of the socialist regime in the erstwhile Soviet

3.If I Could Go Back in Time Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

3.If I Could Go Back in Time - Essay Example Ever since, he has never had any proper physical examination hence no one had any information regarding his heart problems he had. This problem was going back as far as his childhood days and when they discovered this problem, it was already too late to save him. His heart and the major organs surrounding it were infected and there was no way of saving them from further infection. The kidneys, lungs, and liver were failing to work slowly each day that passed and that was when the doctors predicted that he has less than a year to live. Everyone suggested that it was best for him to get admission in a good hospital where his health will be under constant check and monitor of the doctors. However as time passed his health continued to deteriorate and he had a prescription for two injection a day to boost his heart’s functioning and he could not do any activity that would force his heart to strain like walking and talking for long time. There was no hope at all because the doctors had already done their best and the only thing to be done was to let him leave until the day he could not any more. My family knew that harsh reality and so did he. This made him hate to see how helpless and hopeless everybody looked. On one night, my grandfather decided that he had had enough of it and the pain he would go through would not let him have a rest and he knew that someday to come it would give in. On that fateful night, he slowly sneaked his way out to the corridor and jumped out of a 5-story window. I could not believe my ears and the news hit me like a wet towel. I could not believe it because I knew him a fighter who would always encourage us to never give up in life, so why did he give up? Hearing the news at such a young age of 11, I did not have the chance to fully understand and take in the harsh reality. I was so sad but I did not cry

Henry Jekylls Full Statement of the Case Essay Example for Free

Henry Jekylls Full Statement of the Case Essay The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written in 1886 by Robert Louis Stevenson. The story derived from one of Stevensons many adult nightmares and raised questions about Society and Religion that was debated by many people. The story was about the duality of man and how Dr. Jekyll tried splitting the good and evil. A result of this was Mr. Hyde and his pure evil personality. In the novel, the last chapter Henry Jekylls Full Statement of the Case answered many questions brought up earlier in the story. Dr. Jekyll is portrayed as a respected and distinguished, well brought up man at the beginning of chapter 10. This is clear in the words, [he was] fond of the respect of the wise and good among my fellow-men, and with every guarantee of an honourable and distinguished future. These statements show us he has all the traits of a gentleman because it says good among my fellow men and fond of the respect of the wise which meant he liked other high honourable men respecting him; however he feels as though he already leads a double life. We see this in the words, I concealed my pleasures and I stood already committed to a found duplicity of life. This tells us that although he likes having he privileges of a gentleman he also enjoys doing something he cant, which would tarnish his reputation. Before he started the experiment Jekyll lead a respected and high life style of being respected by others and being well off and had a theory on good and evil. Jekyll believed that man was made up of 2 personalities, one good and evil. This is clear in the text when Jekyll explains, That man is not truly one, but truly two. He had a large interest in the duality of nature. He believed he could split everyones two personalities into two different people. Jekyll was excited by the idea of separating the two identities. This is apparent when he says I had learned to dwell with the pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements he thought that by separating the two identities they would stop irritating each other and he was excited by separating the two personalities because he says hed learned to dwell with the pleasureof the separation of these two elements. Therefore, this was Jekylls ultimate desire and he worked towards this ground-breaking expe riment. Jekyll undertook the experiment to try and split his two personalities and to prove that it was possible. He believed he could brew a potion that would make his good and evil side split into two. It is clear because Jekyll explains that he managed to compound a drug by which these powers should be dethroned from their supremacy. He tells us that mixing the elements would combine their power and he thinks this will split his two personalities into two different people. After he compounded the drug Jekyll hesitated to take it because he knew it was a powerful drug and he risked death. This is proven in the statement I hesitated long before I put this theory to the test of practice. I knew well that I risked death Jekyll knew that he risked his life but was sure that he could do it and had faith in his theory of the dual personalities and duality of man. Once Jekyll finally takes the drug he describes the transformation as the most racking pangs succeeded: a grinding in the bones, deadly nausea, and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death. The way he described the feelings was excruciating pain and that he imagined that you could only feel such pain at the hour of birth or death. This would of made the reader feel repel the reader but also excite them because they would want to know what happens. A Victorian reader probably would find this very controversial and might be slightly offended by the words that are used. When Jekyll first became Hyde he knew from the moment he changed that he was more evil already, this is obvious in the words I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked. Although Jekyll knew that he was even more wicked as Hyde he seemed to have positive feelings towards him. He felt as though when he was Hyde he was free and had no cares in the world. This is reflected in the words I looked upon that ugly idol in the glass, I was conscious of no repugnance, rather of a leap of welcome. Before the experiment Jekyll felt as though he already lead a double life and had to conceal his pleasures, but as Hyde he had someone in which he could unleash all his forbidden cravings and not have a conscience after doing so. Hed found a perfect solution. Jekyll could become Hyde by taking a potion and Hyde could become Jekyll by reversing the potion. Jekyll believed that his experiment was all under control. However, as Hyde grew stronger it was proven that he learned to control Jekyll. This is shown in the quote Yes, I had gone to bed Henry Jekyll, I had awakened Edward Hyde. How was this to be explained? I asked myself; and then, with another bound of terror how was it to be remedied? Hyde was becoming stronger then Jekyll and was beginning to control him, Hyde could pick and choose when he wanted to come out, and Jekyll had no control now. This also showed Jekylls panic and increasing lack of control because hed began to ask himself how he could keep control of Hyde. Due to Hydes strength becoming more powerful Jekyll decided to stop taking the potion hoping that it would stop Hyde forever. Jekyll was scared that Hyde would take over forever. This is shown in the words the balance of my nature might be permanently overthrown, the power of voluntary change be forfeited, and the character of Edward Hyde become irrevocably mine and he had a difficult decision as he states To cast it in with Hyde was to die a thousand interests and aspirations, and to become, at a blow forever, despised and friendless. In these words it tells us if he was to stay as Hyde he would be giving up thousands of his dreams and goals in live and become friendless because no one liked Hyde. Due to the fact Jekyll was scared that Hyde would take over he had to make a decision whether he would stay as Jekyll or Hyde. His decision was thwarted by Hyde but his resolution to be rid of Hyde helps the reader empathise with Jekyll. Jekyll stopped taking the drug hoping he would stay as Jekyll forever, however because Jekyll was taking the drug for so long he had become an addict and felt as though he could feel Hyde struggling for freedom and he took the drug once again after 3 months. This is clear in the words I began to be tortured with throes and longings, as of Hyde struggling after freedom; and at last, in an hour of moral weakness, I once again compounded and swallowed the transforming draught. These words prove that Hyde was struggling to break free from Jekyll when Jekyll had stopped taking the potion and Jekyll was finding it hard to not take the drug, I know this because it says I began to be tortured. The words struggle, tortured and longings all suggest conflict between the two identities. By the end of the novel Jekylls feelings towards Hyde had turned completely opposite from what they were at the beginning. Hyde and Jekyll had a pure hatred for each other and it was as if they were both trying to make each others lives worse. This is clear from the words The powers of Hyde seemed to have grown with the sickliness of Jekyll. And certainly the hate that now divided them was equal on each side. This statement shows us how strong the hatred between both sides but also the power struggle because Hyde was becoming stronger the more he hated Jekyll. Again, it is shown in the words, The powers of Hyde seemed to have grown with the sickliness of Jekyll. Thus representing the imbalance of power between the two. Although Jekylls hatred for Hyde was strong he carried on taking it because he felt like he was addicted to it. At one point in the novel it describes Jekyll taking the drug to someone with an addiction like to alcohol. He says, I do not suppose that when a drunkard reasons with himself upon his vice, he is once out of five hundred times affected by the dangers that he runs through his brutish physical insensibility. Here Jekyll refers to himself as a drunk and says he cannot reason with himself because he feels as though the drug has already affected him. Therefore, because Jekyll is addicted to the drug, this is why he carries on taking it and he has no power or self respect anymore. When Jekyll says I fell into slavery he means that Hyde has become stronger than him and has began to control him, making him take the drug and become Hyde more then he actually wants. Also at other times the drug has begun to control him because he is like an addict he has the feeling to want to take the drug all the time like and alcoholic would want to drink alcohol. In a way we begin to feel sorry for him here but however, we know it is his fault for carrying on taking the potions just because he enjoys not having any cares and getting away with things. In the novel Hyde is a very powerful and dominant character. He has multiple characteristics throughout the story. He is described as so much smaller, slighter, and younger then Henry Jekyll. The physical description of him is very different from Henry Jekylls. However it also says that evil was written broadly and plainly on the face of the other. This tell us that Hyde may have been smaller and younger the Jekyll however he is much more evil. Hydes character is the complete opposite of Jekylls and is described as more wicked, a tenfold more wicked. This tells us that Hyde is ten times more wicked than Jekyll by using the word tenfold. This makes the reader concerned for what Hyde might do to Jekyll. As well Hyde is described as a man of stone this simile tells us that he has no emotions or feelings for others. In parts of the final chapter Hyde is referred to as unnatural. This is shown in the phrase something not only hellish but inorganic. Jekyll believes that is something that is not real, which is true because he is not a real person, just something created from a potion. As well as being described as unnatural during the final chapter he is also referred to as an animal. This is proven in the statement a creature eaten up and emptied by fever. This phrase tells us that Hyde has traits of and animal by the way he acts and what he does, he acts as a savage animal in the wild when he kills innocent people. Hydes actions are disgraceful and evil throughout the novel. Some of these actions are when he trampled a little girl in the street. Jekyll reflects by saying, An act of cruelty to a child aroused against me the anger of a passer-by. This act makes Jekyll angry at Hyde for being cruel to a child and this is clear because he describes it as an act of cruelty and he is also angry because he makes a passer by angry and it could tarnish Jekylls reputation if people found out they were connected in a way. Another one of Hydes actions was the murder of Sir Danvers Carew. This criminal act is proven in the statement Some two months before the murder of Sir Danvers. These actions show that Hyde is pure evil and has no emotion and will do anything. His actions result in him having to go into hiding because people know that he killed Sir Danvers. The way he killed Sir Danvers Carew was described as, mauling the unresisting body this would of shocked and scared the reader because it would of created a disturbing imagery. Jekylls character is different from Hyde. Firstly, Jekyll is old and elderly; this is proven when he describes himself as elderly in the novel. However, Hyde is the opposite and is young and carefree. I know this because it says younger, lighter, happier. This shows that they are both opposites and this is what is meant when the author describes them as polar twins. Another way Jekyll is different from Hyde is that Jekyll has a conscience whereas Hyde doesnt. This is clear when Jekyll says, I was conscious even when I took the draught and in comparison Hyde says gloating on my crime. These statements prove that even though Hyde has done worse things than Jekyll, Jekyll seems to have more of a conscience. Although as well as having his own conscience, Jekyll seems to feel guilty for what he does when he is Hyde too. But, Hyde gloats at his crimes, therefore proving that he is immoral and not sorry for what hes done, this would of shocked and scared the Victorian reader. Also another difference between Jekyll and Hyde is that Jekyll becomes as Hyde becomes strong. I know this because of the statements sickliness in Jekyll and the powers of Hyde seemed to have grown. This proves that as Jekyll continued to take the drug he made Hyde stronger and it began to be a struggle between them both. Jekyll controlled the growth in Hyde because he carried on taking the potion because he had become an addict; he carried on taking the drug which began to make Hyde come out more often, making him a lot stronger. I know that Jekyll became an addict to the drug because it says I fell into slavery by using the word slavery it tells us that Hyde was beginning to control Jekyll because the more he took the transforming draught the more he became a slave to Hyde. The result of not controlling the growth of Hyde was Hyde getting stronger and stronger and eventually Hyde begins to control Jekyll because he could come out whenever he wanted and this shows how Hyde gains power over Jekyll and through the novel it shows the constant power struggle. At the end of the novel Jekyll knows that his experiments have failed and has to face the consequences. I believe that Jekyll made sure he died by his choice before letting Hyde take over for good. By killing himself Jekyll made sure that he was technically killing Hyde and that he wasnt left free to do evil things once he finally took over Jekylls body and it was a matter of pride and doing what was right for others. Jekyll was very wise to do such a thing for others and at the end of the novel I believe that Jekyll didnt regret his experiments at all. Jekyll was foolish to meddle with the darker side of science and philosophy. However, he didnt deserve to die because he only wanted to try something new and succeed. If Jekyll hadnt done this experiment then some one else would have. After reading the whole novel, I believe that the final chapter is very important to the story. It answers to most questions that are raised earlier in the topic. For example, when Utterson saw Jekyll at the window and Jekyll ignored him we now know that he ignored him and went away because he must have been changing into Hyde. Another example of a question being answered was why Lanyon was so shocked when he say Jekyll and never wanted to see him again, and this was due to him changing into Hyde in front of him. By seeing things from Jekylls perspective it gives us a clearer understanding of the power struggle between Hyde and himself and how Hyde eventually takes over. I would have liked to have seen at one point in the novel or final chapter some of Hydes viewpoint, but there wasnt and perhaps Victorian readers would of liked this too because then maybe it would of given explanations for why Hyde did some of the things he did. Hyde is seen from other peoples perspectives all the time and maybe if we were to have read something from his perspective, we might have seen reasons why he did some of the things he did. However I do believe that the final chapter was key to the novel and made everything much clearer to the reader.

Principles of Democratic Education

Principles of Democratic Education What are the principles of democratic education? How are these principles and values in  tension/contradiction with our social construction of children and youth? For example, what  assumptions do we make about teaching, learning and youth that democratic schools challenge? How  does one size fits all centralized curriculum contribute to what Apple called the de-skilling of  teachers? What is lost when this approach is adapted, especially when it is combined with the  intensification of teaching? Explore the contradictions between what we say we want our students to  be when they are finished their schooling (engaged, critical thinkers, active contributors and problem  solvers) and how we are often educating young people. How does democratic education address this?  What are some of the challenges educators who want to introduce democratic principles into their  schools face? What are some of the potential rewards? How does democratic education address the notion th at all education, even that which claims to be value-centered, is political? Explain the relationship that concepts like voice and agency have to democratic principles in Education. Answer Democratic Education All beings are created as individuals and have different habits and intelligence. Ayers (2009) says that every human being is capable of infinite and incalculable valve. All of us have an exclusive intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual, moral and creative force. Each person is born free and is equal in dignity and right. Each endows with reason and conscience. Every individual is deserves a community and sense of brotherhood and sisterhood, recognition and respect. This core value must express itself explicitly and implicitly in education as in every other aspect of associative living. Amy Gutmann (1999) defines democratic education  as a worldwide movement towards greater decision-making power for students in the running of their own schools. There is no generally agreed definition of the term, but at the IDEC: International Democratic Education Conference (2010) in 2005 the participants agreed that, in any educational setting, young people have the right: to decide individually how, when, what, where and with whom they learn To have an equal share in the decision-making in the running of their school and determining the rules and sanctions, if any, are necessary. IDEC (2010) supports schools which uphold respect and trust for children. They believe in shared responsibility and freedom of choice of activity. IDEC is open to schools which follow equality of status of children and adult and democratic governance by children and staff together. They do not believe in any superior guide and system. Principles of Democratic Education There are two pillars of democratic education: Self-determined learning A learning community based on equality and mutual respect Apple (1995) discusses that democratic education means that children and teachers engage in collaborative planning, reaching decisions that are in the interest of both their aspirations and desires. Those involved in democratic schools prize diversity. They consider themselves participants of communities of learning. Such communities include people representing a broad spectrum of age, culture, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic class and abilities. However, these differences do not create stereotype; instead they enrich the community. Democracy means by definition means by the people, for the people. Therefore, it gives the community a shared purpose and allows people to set aside their self-interests and work for the greater good. Common goal is the central idea of democracy. Beane Apple (1995) explain that educators who are committed to democracy know that any inequality at schools will also be found in the community. Hence, they seek not only seek democracy in institutes but also want to extent to the community. If the community does not follow democratic conviction then concentrating on democratic education is pointless, because the young people will be affected by their surroundings and the concept will fail. Democratic education seeks to lessen the harshness of social inequities in school and change the conditions which create them. Challenges by Democratic Schools Democratic school challenge the approach of teaching that follows the belief that young people are to follow the lead of their teachers and not question their ability or knowledge. Democratic approach says that students and teachers should go hand-in-hand. They should participate in not only teaching practice but also the curriculum. Democratic education challenges the conventional way of assembling the curriculum and focus on broadening the horizons. These schools need to be based on the broad definition of we, a commitment to build a community that is of the school and the community in which the school exists. One Size Fit All Today all the focus is on privatization, marketization and decentralization. So, for teachers, going beyond approved material risks administrative consents. Jungck (2000) explains in her article that there is an immense pressure in not only to redefine the methods of teaching but also the purpose of education. if the schools, their teachers and curriculum are closely knitted, more technology oriented, according to the needs of business and industry, then it is expected that the problems of achievement and unemployment will be disappear along with the international economic competitiveness. In most of elementary and high schools, the curriculum is planned by the national or state department of education. It took teachers a lot of time and effort to minimize the total administrative control over the curriculum. Apple (1995) says, that after all, it is the teachers who teach in the class room and thus they should have a say in the matter. In most Western industrialized nations, the phenomenon of de-skilling of teachers is become common. It means that when individuals are unable to control a large portion of their job, they forget the essential skills required to perform the job. Teachers have been alienated from the tasks of setting curricular goals, designing lessons and individualized attention to students according to ability and need. Now, instead of teachers who care about what and why they teach, executioners of someone elses plan are created. The effect of this practice is very hostile for the profession of teaching itself. Quality is sacrificed on quantity as a result of de-skilling of teachers. They now want to cut corner and rely on the experts for their job. Jungck (2000) tells the concept of intensification; she says that collective skills of teachers are list as they concentrate on management skills. Ayers (2009) enforce the importance of education. He says that all children and youth in a democracy deserve full access to richly resourced classrooms led by caring, thoughtfully qualified, and generously compensated teachers. Whereas democratic education I affecting the professional teachers and turning them into managers. Intensification results in lack of enthusiasm and simplistic response to innovation. Educating Young People Every student brings their experiences and skills to school. They represent their community (Ayers, 1994). In another article Ayers (2009) states that, students should be able to make up their own judgment based on evidence, ask fundamental questions and pursue answers wherever they take them. Democratic education is about opening doors of opportunity and opening minds as students make their own pathways into the world. Beane Apple (1995) explain by research that young people are more interested to learn through experience. They do not like to study from tapes because they already know most of the stuff. Teachers also dont interact during this type of sessions and the outcome is not as desired. So, democratic education Challenges, Rewards   Political Belief Ayers (1992) tell that in order to introduce democratic education, people have taken very important steps. Young people have been given space and considered while making policies. A great challenge however was inadequately trained staff. Apple (1995) says that a very challenging task was to broaden the horizon of education from the conventional curriculum. Also, in order to achieve democratic education, the community and school needed to be connected. However, the outcomes of democratic education are vast. The students are grown to be with high thinking ability and contribute to their society. Although no matter what the core value, it is always of political benefit. Ayers conclude that (2009) educators, students, and citizens should press for an education worthy of a democracy, including an end to sorting people into winners and losers through expensive standardized tests that act as pseudo-scientific forms of surveillance. There should be an end to starving schools of needed resources and then blaming teachers and their unions for dismal outcomes. Militarization of schools, zero tolerance policies, gender identity discrimination and end to limited resources due to communities historically isolated, underfunded, and underserved. Question No. 2 Outline the tenets of neoliberalism in relation to education. What are the organizing value sets and  key assumptions to this ideology? How are they aligned with or in conflict with the goals of some of the  other models we have looked at in education (for example, Deweys notion of child-centered  education) where is power and authority located in a neoliberalist model? List a few of the key ideas  of neoconservatives in relation to education. Can a person be both a neoconservative and a neoliberal at  the same time? How does the film Waiting for Superman frame particular neoliberalist ideas about  education? What systemic structures are not being challenged by putting the blame for lagging education on teachers unions, according to Swalwell and Apple? Who benefits by this, and who loses?  Discuss the ways in which charter schools and voucher systems can impact students, teachers and  schools. Why do you think neoliberalism has become the dominant discourse of educati on, despite the  fact that Finland seems to go against most of the tenets of neoliberalist education and yet scores so well  on the PISA tests? Is it the inevitable way that the world is moving and education needs to adapt, or are  there other models that should be considered for teaching and learning? Answer Neoliberalism Wendy Brown (2003) states that neoliberalism equated with a radically free market: maximized competition and free trade achieved through economic de-regulation, elimination of tariffs, and a range of monetary and social policies favourable to business and indifferent toward poverty, social deracination, cultural decimation, long term resource depletion and environmental destruction. So neoliberalism can be summed up in four major types of public policy: Free trade, Deregulation Fiscal austerity Privatization John Deweys Theory of Education Warde (1960) explains this theory; unifying principles of democracy and education will create an American society depicting creative and well-adjusted youth. The three steps are: Free availability of kindergarten to college Children would carry on the educational process, aided and guided by the teacher They would be trained to behave cooperatively, sharing with and caring for one another image. Warde (1960) stated that by following this theory the opposition between the old education and the new conditions of life would be overcome. The progressive influences radiating from the schools would stimulate and fortify the building of a democratic order of free and equal citizens. Since the 1980s the impact of neoliberal and neoconservative ideas on education in the UK and USA has been dramatic. In the UK, protagonists argued that education had been going in the wrong direction and attacked ideological attack resulting in quality of primary education in England. From the 1950s to the early 1980s those teachers were respected due to their professionalism and because they engaged in a variety of national curriculum projects. During this period schools had both greater autonomy and greater local support than thereafter (Hicks, 2004). Hicks (2004) state that money spent on education is seen as a waste of time unless it helps the country compete efficiently and effectively in the international market. The metaphors applied to education became those of the market place: parents as consumers, business as the model for education, internal and external competition in schools to bring out what is the best in both pupils and schools. Neoconservative Neoconservative is a conservative who advocates the assertive promotion of democracy and United States national interest in international affairs including through military means. Neoconservatives are not really conservative and neoliberals are not really liberal. So a person can be both at the same time. Neoconservative policies with respect to education will include; common curriculum, accountability of teachers, responsibility of teachers for education and central control over education (Apple Swalwell, 2011). Waiting for Superman According to Apple Swalwell (2011),Waiting for Superman explores the tragic way of failure of American education system. It is incorporated by neoliberal idea, shows that America had the best public education system dominating internationally. Regardless of systemic and structural social inequities that powerfully shape the lives of the children and their caregivers, the film portrays them all as equally tragic. These are children who want desperately to succeed but who are likely to be crushed by bureaucracies, bad teachers, and unions unless charters with dynamic leaders can save them. Apple Swalwell (2011) blame the teachers Union for lagging education because they themselves are unionized and bad teachers are protected by them at the expense of students. By blaming these unions, oppression of children, racial and social issues are not addressed. It also fails to address the impact of No Child Left Behind and other policies that cut off school funding. This also does not discuss curriculum change towards test preparation, mechanized teaching, and further marginalized children who are predicted to drag down test scores As the documentary points out only one in five charter schools perform better than regular school, the ultimate solution for the students, teachers and parents. Rather, the solution is not to put all children in charter schools, but rather to make all schools more like the charters. That would entail discipline, high expectations for all students, longer school days, and more flexibility to hire (and reward) good teachers and get rid of bad ones. Conclusion Finlands teachers are also fully unionized, teaching there is in a homogeneous and wealthy nation. Their educational system has access to social support system. There are many factors that are to be considered in adapting educational models. The web woven between charter schools, neoliberal venture capitalists, and neoconservative think tanks forms powerful, interconnected force intending to influence votes on policies supporting charter schools and even running candidates. These promoters include most prominent educational leaders and policy makers. Research needs to be done in order to expose this political effect and attempt to protect public institutions. Our schools, teachers and students deserve better. Therefore they need to work together along with the help of state to run a progressing educational system. Competition is the basis of improvement. Therefore, the educational methods have to be competitive with global market. Finland succeeds due to the huge safety net for citizens, whereas everywhere else cutting edges are common. Segregation, property-tax based funding formulas, centralized textbook production, lack of local autonomy and shared governance, de-professionalization, inadequate special education supports, differential discipline patterns, and other such matters need to be addressed in order to improve educational system. However, the need to adapt according to the changing technology and laws is necessary.

Stock Market :: essays research papers

Stock Market Crash of 1929   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The day the stock market crashed, October 29th, 1929, is now known in infamy as Black Tuesday. â€Å"The Reasons Stocks Crashed in 1929† by Harold Bierman Jr. says that there were many events that led up to the Stock Market Crash. On October 24th, 1929, the stock market fell 9% during the day, which was a huge deal back in that time when a lot of people had money invested in the Stock Market. After this decline there was a selling alarm, as everyone wanted to get his or her money out of the stock market. Bierman concludes that the stock prices were too high in October of ’29 and that a crash in the market was bound to happen. â€Å"The Reasons Stocks Crashed in 1929† by Harold Bierman Jr. reviews a small set of possible causes for the crash and reaches specific conclusions about the events that led to the biggest stock market crash in history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 29th of October will always be known as Black Tuesday but it was not the only day the stock market struggled. The New York Times of October 4th headed a page one article â€Å"Year’s Worst Break Hits Stock Market†, but almost all reported business news was still very optimistic. On October 23rd the market declined by four billion dollars and if the events of the 29th did not happen then the 23rd would have gone done in history as the major stock market event. The events of the 23rd were dwarfed by the proceedings of the morning of the 29th when it was said that within a few hours of the stock market being open that day, the prices had fallen so low that they wiped out all of the gains that have been made in the entire previous year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the stock market was viewed as an indicator of the American economy, the public’s confidence in the economy was shattered.

Bernice Bobs Her Hair Essay -- essays research papers fc

“Bernice Bobs Her Hair';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Have you ever at one time or another felt like an outsider? Many people do, trying desperately to fit in with their social counterparts. Whether it be in school, at work, or life in general, many yearn to be accepted by their peers and feel as though they are a part of some sort of “club'; that is viewed by others as the “in'; crowed. F. Scott Fitzgerald tries to express this turmoil with the short story “Bernice Bob’s Her Hair';. He attempts to show the inner workings of the popular youth and the means in which one can successfully enter it. By creating the distinct characters of Marjorie, Bernice and Warren, one can see the realistic lives of youth in America and what they do when it comes to achieving and successfully maintaining one’s popularity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the world of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Marjorie is portrayed as a self assured, popular young woman. This was shown very early in the story, during which a party was taking place. After noticing that Bernice, her dopey cousin, was consuming much of Oswald’s time, she proceeded to Warren to ask if he could take over being Bernice’s company and dance with her. Warren submissively said yes, even though he desperately wished to spend time with Marjorie. As he did so, Marjorie was whisked away by a boy to dance, the second or third of the evening. Her status gave her the convenience of asking favors, with the confidence of knowing that they would be carried out without resistance. This confidence also emerged after she told Bernice what a drag people like her are to be with. When Bernice went up stairs later on that day and announced to Marjorie how right she was, Marjorie's immediate response was “I know';(1). This “know it all'; attitude arose a gain when she declared that the reason Madonna did not smile in her world renowned portrait was because her teeth were crooked, even though it is widely assumed and most probable that it was due to that period in time; at that time is was very uncommon to smile for a portrait since it did not look dignified or proper. She also felt confident after noticing that her achievement in bringing Bernice into the popular realm started to surpass her own popularity. As she saw that Bernice was wooing W... ...are about such things as frivolous as that. People like Warren are too self conscious and would most likely grow up without a sense of identity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is said by many that it does not matter in life whether one is popular or not. I beg to differ. Sure, one does not necessarily need to be popular in order to be successful in life, but popularity does bring its advantages. For one thing, being likable can get one a better chance at career advances or even getting a job at all since employers tend to hire employees they feel most comfortable with. Also, being likable means being able to easily make friends which, in the working world, could mean an increase in the amount of connections one might make as well as an increase in one’s level of connections. No one should ever discredit popularity as being a cruel concoction created by children who wanted to feel better about themselves. It can indeed help one down the road of life if he or she uses it wisely.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Works Cited: 1. Fitzgerald, F., Scott. “Bernice Bobs Her Hair';.

Difficulties in Learning English Grammar

International Journal of Instruction e-ISSN: 1308-1470 ? www. e-iji. net July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 p-ISSN: 1694-609X DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING GRAMMAR IN AN EFL CONTEXT1 Abdu Mohammed Al-Mekhlafi PhD. , College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman [email  protected] com Ramani Perur Nagaratnam PhD. , Ministry of Manpower, Oman The role of grammar instruction in an ESL/EFL context has been for decades a major issue for students and teachers alike.Researchers have debated whether grammar should be taught in the classroom and students, for their part, have generally looked upon grammar instruction as a necessary evil at best, and an avoidable burden at worst. The paper reports a study undertaken to investigate the difficulties teachers face in teaching grammar to EFL students as well as those faced by students in learning it, in the teachers' perception.The study aimed to find out whether there are significant differences in teachers' perceptions of difficulties in relation to their gender, qualification, teaching experience, and the level they teach in school, thus providing insights into their own and their students' difficulties. Mean scores and t-test were used to interpret the data. The main findings are reported with implications. Key Words: English language teaching, instruction, EFL grammar instruction, teaching, difficulties in grammar instructionINTRODUCTION The English teacher is often portrayed as an â€Å"unattractive grammar monger whose only pleasure in life is to point out the faults of others† (Baron, 1982, p. 226). For the most part, within the classroom, any mention of grammar causes the student moments of discomfort and sometimes even terror. Many teachers have tried to make grammar teaching a non-threatening, imaginative and useful activity within the English curriculum. A summary of this paper was presented at the 54th World Assembly of the International Council on Education for Teaching (ICET) on ‘Maintaini ng Strategic Agility: Managing change and assuring quality in education for teaching’, 14-17 December 2009, Muscat, Oman. 70 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ Previous studies on students' and teachers' attitudes and perceptions of grammar instruction in the context of language teaching and learning suggest a disparity between students and teachers.While students favour formal and explicit grammar instruction and error correction, teachers favour communicative activities with less conscious focus on grammar (e. g. , Brindley 1984; Kumaravadivelu 1991; Leki 1995; Schultz 1996, 2001; Spratt 1999). Rationale for the present study The foregoing review of literature shows that practicing teachers are faced with a range of options for grammar instruction in their classrooms. There are, however, many types of difficulties faced by students and teachers with regard to grammar instruction in an ESL/EFL context.Identifying such difficulties and being consciously awar e of them would help teachers find ways of overcoming them and provide effective grammar instruction. There has, however, been little investigation of the difficulties faced by EFL teachers and Aran learners in the Gulf region with regard to grammar instruction. The teachers employ theoretically recommended methods without necessarily taking into account their own and their learners’ potential difficulties.They may not be conscious of difficulties which are serious and may thus hinder students’ learning of English grammar, and do not choose the method of instruction that would pose fewer difficulties and problems to their learners. It is in this context that the present study was undertaken to capture valuable insights into how EFL school teachers in Oman perceive students’ as well as their own difficulties with grammar instruction. The study reported here aims to address this need by presenting the difficulties of a cross section of school EFL teachers in Oman as well as their perceptions of their students' difficulties in this regard.It also aims to add to the knowledge base in this area. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Attitudes towards grammar instruction In teaching grammar, three areas have to be considered: grammar as rules, grammar as form, and grammar as resource. For many L2 learners, learning grammar often means learning the rules of grammar and having an intellectual knowledge of grammar. Teachers often believe that this will provide the generative basis on which learners can build their knowledge and will be able to use the language eventually. For them, prescribed rules give a kind of security.International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 71 A better approach is perhaps to see grammar as one of many resources that we have in language which helps us to communicate. We should see how grammar relates to what we want to say or write, and how we expect others to interpret what our language use and i ts focus. According to Widdowson (1990: 86), † . . . grammar is not a constraining imposition but a liberating force: it frees us from a dependency on context and a purely lexical categorization of reality. Given that many learners – and teachers – tend to view grammar as a set of restrictions on what is allowed and disallowed in language use – ‘a linguistic straitjacket’ in Larsen-Freeman’s words (2002: 103) – the conception of grammar as something that liberates rather than represses is one that is worth investigating. According to Morelli (2003), students perceived themselves as having a better attitude towards grammar instruction in context, while performing slightly better after having experienced the traditional grammar instruction.Elkilic and Akca (2008) reported generally positive attitudes of students studying English grammar at a private primary EFL classroom towards studying grammar. In particular, however, a little ov er 50% of their subjects claimed to enjoy grammar very much and only about 10% reported finding some difficulty in learning and remembering grammar. Student expectations Student expectations of traditional, explicit grammar teaching have been confirmed by many teachers (cf. Borg, 1999a, b).Burgess and Etherington (2002:440-441) also conclude that teachers believe that explicit teaching of grammar is favoured by their students because of expectations and feelings of insecurity. Since the 1970s, attention has shifted from ways of teaching grammar to ways of getting learners to communicate, but grammar has been seen to be a powerful undermining and demotivating force among L2 learners. In terms of motivation and learner success with languages, grammar has been seen to be a problem and to stand in the way of helping learners to communicate fluently.The hard fact that most teachers face is that learners often find it difficult to make flexible use of the rules of grammar taught in the cl assroom. They may know the rules perfectly, but are incapable of applying them in their own use of the language. Teachers' recognition of this process (i. e. , of transferring declarative knowledge about grammar into procedural knowledge) as a problem for many of their students has been reported by Burgess and Etherington (2002:442). Haudeck International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 72 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ as reported that many learners have difficulty in internalising grammar rules, although these have been taught intensively (1996, cited in European Commission, 2006). The use of grammatical terminology Metalinguistic discussion (i. e. , the use of grammatical terminology to talk about language) is seen by Stern (1992:327) as one of the characteristics of explicit grammar teaching. According to Burgess and Etherington (2002: 444), teachers believe that their students see grammatical terminology as useful and that its use does no t present a particular difficulty for students.Descriptive grammars acknowledge the fact that language is dynamic and its use is constantly changing, although not in major ways. The problem for ESL/EFL learners, however, is that there is a time-lag between the awareness of such changes and their acceptance as the proper use of the language. As Morelli (2003:33-34) has observed, â€Å"Grammar can be taught traditionally or contextually, but student perception should be considered by teachers in the decision-making process. Students need to feel confident that educators have met their needs . . . nd educators should be willing to consider the attitudes and perceptions of students when making decisions about how to teach grammar. † METHOD Purpose The study reported here aims to investigate the difficulties of a cross section of school EFL teachers in Oman as well as their perceptions of their students' difficulties with regard to grammar instruction. Research questions The study aimed to answer the following questions: 1. What are EFL teachers’ perceptions of the difficulties of students and teachers with regard to grammar instruction in an EFL context? 2.Are there any differences in teachers' perceptions between the difficulties faced by teachers and those faced by students? 3. Do these perceptions of difficulties vary according to the teachers’: †¢ Gender, †¢ Level taught, †¢ Qualifications, and †¢ Experience? International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 73 4. Are there any significant differences in teachers' perceptions due to the type of difficulty? Limitation of the study The present study is limited to: †¢ EFL teachers teaching English in Omani Basic Education schools, and †¢ The use of questionnaire as the research instrument.Nevertheless, the responses are valuable in themselves, indicating the general difficulties that students and teachers face with regard to grammar instruction in an EFL context. Research design The study was mainly quantitative in design, using a questionnaire and the subjects responded to each statement on a five-point Likert-type attitude scale (from 5 for ‘strongly agree' to 1 for ‘strongly disagree'). The respondents also provided background information on gender, qualification, teaching experience and the level they teach, for creating their profile in terms of variables. The data was analyzed (t-test and ANOVA) using the SPSS.The research instrument The questionnaire used in the present study, which comprises 20 statements, was the one employed by Burgess and Etherington in their study (2002: 451452) (See ANNEXURE – I for the questionnaire used in the present study). Subjects Only one broad geographical context was chosen for the study, namely Oman, in order to be context-specific and be able to make a close connection between teachers, their assumptions and their practical experience. It is b elieved that the subjects fairly represented the context of EFL teaching at different levels in Omani schools.Besides, the sample size was 90, more than the minimum number required for making useful statistical analyses according to Cohen and Manion (1994:77). The profile of the subjects in terms of the four variables is given below in Table 1: International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 74 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ Table 1. Profile of Respondents to the Study Instrument Variable Gender Level they teach Categories within the variable Male Female Grades 1-4 Grades 5-10 Grades 11-12 Master’s Degree Bachelor’s Degree Diploma ? years > 5 ? 10 years > 10 years No. of respondents in each category 39 51 17 31 42 8 76 6 27 41 22 Total (N) 90 90 Qualification 90 Experience 90 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION With regard to the first research question whether there are difficulties faced by students and teachers with grammar instruction, Tabl e 2 (ANNEXURE – II) shows an overall mean of 3. 51 on a five-point scale, the means for individual statements ranging from 2. 97 to 4. 10, thus indicating teachers' general agreement with most of the statements in the survey questionnaire (See Fig. below). This suggests that, in the perceptions of teachers, there are difficulties faced by teachers as well as students with regard to grammar instruction in an EFL context. Fig. 1. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 75 With regard to the second research question about the differences between students and teachers in the difficulties faced, Table 3 shows that there is a statistically significant difference at the level of p ; 0. 01 in the perceptions of teachers and students, with students experiencing difficulties to a greater extent than teachers, which is understandable. The overall mean for students' difficulties as perceived by the teachers was 3. 58, while the overall mean for teachers' difficulties was 3. 23 (Table 3 below). Table 3. Teachers’ Perceptions of Teachers’ and Students’ Difficulties with EFL Grammar (N = 90) Statement Teachers’ Difficulties Students’ Difficulties as perceived by the Teachers Mean 3. 331 3. 5779 SD . 58484 . 42214 t Sig. (2-tailed) 5. 225 . 000 The third research question is about the differences in perception of difficulties in terms of the four teacher variables: gender, level taught, qualification, and teaching experience. With regard to gender, a comparison of the overall mean response for male (3. 508) and female teachers (3. 510) (See Fig. 2 below) shows that they are quite nearly the same and that there is no statistically significant difference at the level of 0. 5 in their perceptions about the difficulties (Sig. : . 978) (Table 4 in ANNEXURE – II)). This suggests that gender does not play a significant role i n the teachers' perceptions when it comes to articulating their own difficulties as well as those of their students with English grammar instruction. Fig. 2. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to Gender With regard to the level taught, Table 5 (ANNEXURE – II) shows that teachers teaching at different levels have similar perceptions about their wn and their International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 76 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ students' difficulties with English grammar instruction, with a slightly higher mean for teachers of Grades 1-4 (3. 58) than the means for teachers of the other two levels, which are nearly the same (3. 49 and 3. 5) (See Fig. 3 below). Table 5 also shows that there is no statistically significant difference at the level of 0. 05 in terms of this variable (Sig. : . 686). Fig. 3.Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to Level Taught With r egard to teachers’ qualifications, Table 6 (ANNEXURE – II) shows a slightly higher overall mean for teachers with a diploma qualification (3. 78) than the overall means for teachers with higher qualifications, viz. bachelor's (3. 46) or master's degree (3. 49) (See Fig. 4 below). The results also show that there is no statistically significant difference at the level of 0. 05 in terms of this variable (Sig. : . 211 – Table 6). Fig. 4.Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to Qualifications With regard to teachers' experience, it does not seem to be a significant variable with regard to their perceptions of their own and their students' difficulties with English grammar instruction, as Table 7 (ANNEXURE – II) shows (See Fig. 5 below). The results also show that there is no statistically significant difference at the level of 0. 05 in terms of this variable (Sig. : . 869 – Table 7). International Journal of Instructio n, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 7 Fig. 5. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to Experience The foregoing discussion is based on the overall mean score obtained for the difficulties in general and for each of the four teacher variables considered in the present study. With regard to the fourth research question, a detailed analysis of the results provides interesting and valuable insights into teachers’ perceptions of different types of difficulties for students and teachers themselves and their concerns about classroom application of grammar teaching principles.The results are discussed with respect to difficulties categorized in terms of the themes listed in Table 8 below: Table 8. Statements in the Questionnaire Categorised according to Themes Theme Explicit grammar teaching The transfer of declarative knowledge into procedural knowledge The use of grammatical terminology Error correction Problem-solving activities The use of authentic texts for grammar instruction The use of spoken and written communicative activities Statement(s) 3, 4, 5, 13 1, 17, 18 14, 19 15, 16 2, 20 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 17, 18Explicit grammar teaching The dichotomies of unconscious/conscious learning and inductive/deductive teaching methods are both sometimes equated with the dichotomy between implicit and explicit instruction. Attitudes to inductive and deductive methods were investigated through statements concerning explicit presentation of grammar by teachers, students finding form-function matches for themselves, and the constraints in using either of the two methods. International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 78 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦Statement 3 (My students expect teachers to present grammar explicitly) and Statement 13 (A lack of explicit grammar teaching leaves my students feeling insecure) produced a mean score of 3. 61 and 3. 38 respectively (Table 2 ANNEXU RE – II), supporting the view that students, in teachers’ perception, prefer explicit grammar teaching. This is not surprising, as students are known to expect traditional, explicit grammar instruction (e. g. , Borg, 1999a, b). The responses in the present study indicate that this expectation of students still remains, especially at the school level.Responses to Statement 5 (My students prefer to find matches between meaning and structure for themselves), however, produced a mean score of 3. 59 (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II), which is very close to the mean score for students’ expectation about explicit teaching of grammar. This perception of students’ preference for an inductive method of learning grammar on the part of the same responding teachers is surprising. With regard to the same statement, the difference in mean between males and females seems to be higher than for the other statements (Table 4 – ANNEXURE – II).A follow-up interview with teachers might have provided more specific information and thrown light on their understanding of explicit and implicit methods of teaching grammar. With regard to Statement 4 (My students prefer to learn grammar from onesentence examples), which links to explicit grammar teaching, responding teachers produced the lowest mean score (2. 97) of all statements in the questionnaire (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II). In terms of experience, however, there seems to be some significant difference at the level of 0. 5 in favour of teachers with more than 10 years of experience (Table 7 – ANNEXURE – II). Declarative vs procedural knowledge Statement 1 (My students find it difficult to transfer their grammatical knowledge into communicative language use), designed to identify teachers’ beliefs about the possible transfer of declarative knowledge (i. e. , knowledge about grammar) into procedural knowledge (i. e. , ability to use that knowledge in actua l communication), produced a mean score of 3. 81 (Table 2 ANNEXURE – II).This indicates that responding teachers recognise this process of transfer of one kind of knowledge into another as a problem for a large number of their students. This gap between students’ grammatical knowledge and communicative ability is not surprising to teachers, who often find that most of their students can recall grammatical rules accurately and perform very well on discrete-point grammar International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 79 exercises, but fail to achieve such grammatical accuracy in actual communication.This fact is corroborated by the responses to Statements 17 and 18 (My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical knowledge within a totally communicative writing/speaking activity), which produced a mean score of 4. 10 and 3. 73 respectively (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II). In terms of teacher qua lifications, teachers with a diploma agree strongly (mean of 4. 33) that their students find it difficult to transfer their grammatical knowledge into communicative language use. The mean for this statement for teachers with higher qualifications is lower (Table 6 – ANNEXURE – II).The use of grammatical terminology The use of grammatical terminology in the EFL classroom is seen as a necessary part of the explicit method of teaching grammar. When students and teachers talk about grammar (i. e. , in meta-linguistic discussion), which is one of the characteristics of explicit language teaching (Stern 1992: 327), they need to use grammatical terms. Two statements (14 & 19) sought to explore teachers’ perceptions of how their students feel about the use of grammatical terminology.Statement 14 (My students find grammatical terminology useful) and Statement 19 (My students find it difficult to use grammatical terminology) produced a mean score of 3. 82 and 4. 07 respec tively (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II). This indicates that, in the responding teachers’ perception, their students see grammatical terminology as useful, but find difficulty in using the terms to be of a greater magnitude. Interestingly, the usefulness of grammatical terminology seems to be linked to the students’ preference for explicit grammar instruction. The difference in mean between teachers of Grades 1-4 and 11-12 on the one hand (mean of ? ) and those of Grades 5-10 (mean of 3. 4), however, seems to be higher with regard to their perceptions of the usefulness of grammatical terminology to their students. That is, teachers of the lowest and highest levels think that their students find grammatical terminology more useful than those of the middle grades. There is a significant difference at the level of 0. 05 in terms of the level taught with regard to the usefulness of grammatical terminology (statement 14) (Table 5 – ANNEXURE – II). In te rms of teacher qualifications, teachers with a diploma agree very strongly (mean of 4. 0) that their students find it difficult to use grammatical terminology and the majority of teachers surveyed, who have a bachelor's International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 80 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ degree, also seem to show a high level of agreement with regard to the same statement (mean of 4. 04). The mean for this statement for teachers with higher qualifications is lower (Table 6 – ANNEXURE – II). Error Correction Teachers generally tend to believe that errors of form committed by EFL learners should be corrected even when communicative goals are intended.This need for correction of form even within a communicative context, either spoken or written, may arise from a concern for grammatical accuracy in students’ communicative output or for avoiding fossilization of errors in their interlanguage. Statements 15 and 16 aim to capture teachers’ perceptions in this regard. Statement 15 (Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a written communicative context) and Statement 16 (Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a spoken communicative context) produced a mean score of 3. 26 and 3. 7 respectively (Table 2 ANNEXURE – II). It may be inferred from the results that the responding teachers experience more difficulty in correcting their learners’ spoken communication than written. Problem-solving techniques Problem-solving techniques in relation to grammar teaching are inductive techniques that require learners to find form-function matches by themselves. (e. g. , Hall and Shepheard, 1991). Responses of teachers surveyed in the present study produced a mean score of 3. 58 for Statement 2 (My students are motivated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar), showing a link to responses to Statement 5 bout studentsâ⠂¬â„¢ preference for finding matches between meaning and structure for themselves. Surprisingly, however, the same responding teachers produced a mean score of 3. 60 for Statement 20 (My students are frustrated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar) (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II). A possible interpretation could be that teachers, while recognising the motivational potential of problem-solving techniques, also observe their students’ frustrating experience with such techniques, possibly because they are too ‘challenging’ for the learners to cope with.Another interpretation could be that teachers’ responses to Statement 2 are based on their theoretical assumption about what these techniques could do to the learners, while those to Statement 20 could be based on teachers’ assessment of the ground reality. International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 81 With regard to the statement about students being motivated by problemsolving techniques for learning grammar (Statement 2), there is also a significant difference at the level of 0. 5 between males and females in their perceptions (Table 4 – ANNEXURE – II). The use of authentic texts for grammar instruction Authentic texts are texts that are not produced artificially for the purpose of language teaching, but are used for genuine purposes in the real world, like newspaper articles and recipes. By implication, these texts are contextualised and communicatively complete in themselves. They focus is on conveying real meaning rather than on form.Decontextualised examples of language, on the other hand, are one-sentence examples usually found in EFL textbooks and grammar practice books. They illustrate grammatical forms and structures in context-free sentences and are generally associated with the explicit method of teaching grammar. The use of texts illustrating authentic communication for presenting gramma r is generally seen as posing problems to teachers and students alike. Students’ problems with their use arise from difficulties of variety of structures Statement 7), culture (Statement 8), vocabulary (Statement 9), and implicit form-function matches (Statement 10), besides an overall difficulty in handling grammar presented within authentic texts (Statement 6). Teachers’ difficulties with authentic texts include those arising from the amount of time needed for using them (Statement 11) and producing suitable tasks from such texts (Statement 12). According to the responding teachers’ perceptions, students experience greater difficulties from vocabulary (Mean=3. 52), variety of structures (Mean=3. 49) and finding form-function matches (Mean=3. 3) than from handling from presented within authentic texts (Mean=3. 33) and culture (Mean=3. 26). Statements 11 and 12 relating to teachers’ difficulties in using authentic texts produced a mean score of 3. 03 and 3. 09 respectively (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II), which indicates a lower perception of teachers of their own difficulties than those of students. The use of spoken and written communicative activities Statements 17 and 18 refer to the possible difficulties students might have in improving the accuracy of their grammatical language within totally communicative activities.Responding teachers produced a mean score of 4. 10 and 3. 73 for the two statements respectively. In fact, the highest mean score of International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 82 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ all scores for the survey questionnaire (4. 10) was obtained for Statement 17 (My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical knowledge within a totally communicative writing activity) (Table 2 ANNEXURE – II).The results indicate that, in teachers' perceptions, totally communicative activities, whether written or spoken, po se great difficulties to students for learning grammar and improving grammatical accuracy, writing activities proving more challenging than spoken ones. It might be inferred that the teachers surveyed might have a serious concern about the lack of sufficient focus on form in purely communicative activities or tasks for developing students' grammatical knowledge. Practising language as communication in real-life tasks might not give sufficient opportunities for students to improve their grammatical knowledge.In terms of teacher qualifications, teachers with a diploma agree very strongly (mean of 4. 67) that their students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical language within a totally communicative writing activity and the majority of teachers surveyed, who have a bachelor's degree, also seem to show a high level of agreement with regard to the same statement (mean of 4. 01). The mean for this statement for teachers with higher qualifications is lower (Table 6 – ANNEXURE – II).CONCLUSION Generally speaking, in teachers’ perceptions, both teachers and students invariably face serious difficulties with regard to EFL grammar instruction, students facing them to a greater extent than teachers. It is obvious that EFL teachers consider these difficulties quite serious, which suggests that serious attention needs to be paid to them. There may be generally recommended ways of teaching EFL grammar (for example, the implicit method), but it would not be proper to adopt them universally without looking at the possible difficulties that might go with those methods suggested.While a less favoured method might pose fewer problems and hence be more effective, a more favoured method might be less effective owing to greater difficulties or problems in implementing it. The difficulties may also be influenced by the context in which a particular method is used. It is, therefore, necessary to make a detailed study of such difficulties faced by teachers and students in specific contexts, take appropriate steps to overcome them, and adapt the method to suit the actual teaching and learning International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 83 environment. This is not to suggest ‘diluting’ a sound approach or method, but only to plan mediating or supplementary tasks to help learners tide over the difficulties. IMPLICATIONS The findings of the present study point to the following implications: 1. EFL Curriculum and material developers should show an understanding of learners’ and teachers’ difficulties, and provide sufficient guidance and help in the curriculum document and the teachers’ book showing how the potential difficulties could be addressed in planning their classroom activities.Teachers may be given examples of mediating tasks, which would mitigate the difficulties. 2. As Morelli (2003: 33-34) has pointed out, students need to be taught grammar through various methodologies and approaches to cater to their individual styles of learning, and educators should consider students’ attitudes and perceptions when making decisions about how to teach grammar. 3. EFL teachers would do well to understand and address their learners’ concerns in planning their lessons and classroom activities, and use supplementary materials, if necessary, to help learners cope with the difficulties. 4.Both in-service and pre-service training programmes should be planned in such a way that student-teachers and practising teachers articulate the potential and actual difficulties and discuss ways of overcoming or at least coping with them. The database relating to teaching English as a foreign language, including the difficulties of learners and teachers with regard to grammar instruction, should be enriched by more detailed research and analysis, which would enable generalizations across the gulf countries. International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 84 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦REFERENCES Baron, D. (1982). Grammar and good taste: Reforming the American language. New Haven, NJ: Yale University Press. Borg, S. (1999a). The use of grammatical terminology in the second language classroom: a qualitative study of teachers’ practices and cognitions. Applied Linguistics, 20 (1): 95-126. (cited in Burgess and Etherington, 2002) Borg, S. (1999b). Teachers’ theories in grammar teaching. ELT Journal, 53 (3): 157-167. (cited in Burgess and Etherington, 2002). Brindley, G. (1984). Needs Analysis and Objective Setting in the Adult Migrant Education Program. NSW Adult Migrant Education Service, Sydney.Burgess, J. and Etherington, S. (2002). Focus on grammatical form: explicit or implicit? System, 30: 433-458. Cohen, L. and Manion, L. C. (1994). Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge. Elkilic, G. and Akca, C. (2008). Attitudes of the Students Studying at K afkas University Private Primary EFL Classroom towards Storytelling and Motivation. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 4(1): 1-22. European Commission (2006). The Main Pedagogical Principles Underlying the Teaching of Languages to Very Young Learners. Final Report of the EAC 89/04, Lot 1 Study: Edelenbos, P. , Johnstone, R. and Kubanek, A. Hall, N. nd Shepheard, J. (1991). The Anti-Grammar Grammar Book. London: Longman. Kumaravadivelu, B. (1991). Language learning tasks: teacher intention and learner interpretation. ELT Journal, 45 (2): 98-107. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2002). The Grammar of Choice. In E. Hinkel and S. Fotos (Eds. ). New Perspectives on Grammar Teaching in Second Language Classrooms. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Leki, I. (1995). Good writing: I know it when I see it. In In D. Belcher and G. Braine (eds. ) Academic Writing in a Second Language. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing. International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. , No. 2 Al-Mekh lafi & Nagaratnam 85 Morelli, J. A. (2003). Ninth Graders’ Attitudes toward Different Approaches to Grammar Instruction. Unpublished Dissertation. The Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York. Schultz, R. (1996). Focus on form in the foreign language classroom: students’ and teachers’ views on error correction and the role of grammar. Foreign Language Annals, 29(3): 343-364. Schultz, R. (2001). Cultural differences in student and teacher perceptions concerning the role of grammar instruction and corrective feedback. USAColombia. The Modern Language Journal, 85(ii): 244-258. Spratt, M. 1999). How good are we at knowing what learners like? System, 27:141-155. Stern, H. H. (1992). Issues and Options in English Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Widdowson, H. G. (1990). Grammar and nonsense and learning. In H. G. Widdowson, Aspects of language teaching, pp. 79-98. Oxford: Oxford University Press. International Journal of Instructio n, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 86 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ ANNEXURE – I RESEARCH INSTRUMENT – QUESTIONNAIRE STUDENT AND TEACHER DIFFICULTIES WITH GRAMMAR These are questions about how students and teachers deal with grammar in the classroom.Please indicate how far you agree or disagree with these statements. If you agree strongly, mark a 5 on the scale; if you strongly disagree, mark a 1 on the scale. No. Statement SA 1 My students find it difficult to transfer their grammatical knowledge into communicative language use. 2 My students are motivated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar. 3 My students expect teachers to present grammar points explicitly. 4 My students prefer to learn grammar from one-sentence examples. 5 My students prefer to find matches between meaning and structure for themselves. My students find it difficult to handle grammar presented within authentic texts. 7 My students find authentic texts difficult becaus e of the wide variety of structures which appear. 8 My students find authentic texts difficult because they are too culture bound. 9 My students find authentic texts difficult because of the vocabulary used. 10 My students cannot find form-function matches in authentic texts without explicit direction from teachers. 11 Teachers find the use of authentic material too time-consuming. 12 Teachers find it difficult to produce tasks of a suitable level from authentic texts. 3 A lack of explicit grammar teaching leaves my students feeling insecure. 14 My students find grammatical terminology useful. 15 Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a written communicative context. 16 Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a spoken communicative context. 17 My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical language within a totally communicative writing activity. 18 My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical language within a totally communicative speaking activity. 9 My students find it difficult to use grammatical terminology. 20 My students are frustrated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar. A N D SD International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 87 ANNEXURE – II Table 2. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar (N = 90) Statement 1. My students find it difficult to transfer their grammatical knowledge into communicative language use. 2. My students are motivated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar. 3. My students expect teachers to present grammar points explicitly. 4.My students prefer to learn grammar from one-sentence examples. 5. My students prefer to find matches between meaning and structure for themselves. 6. My students find it difficult to handle grammar presented within authentic texts. 7. My students find authentic texts difficult because of t he wide variety of structures which appear. 8. My students find authentic texts difficult because they are too culture bound. 9. My students find authentic texts difficult because of the vocabulary used. 10. My students cannot find form-function matches in authentic texts without explicit direction from teachers. 11.Teachers find the use of authentic material too time-consuming. 12. Teachers find it difficult to produce tasks of a suitable level from authentic texts. 13. A lack of explicit grammar teaching leaves my students feeling insecure. 14. My students find grammatical terminology useful. 15. Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a written communicative context. 16. Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a spoken communicative context. 17. My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical language within a totally communicative writing activity. 8. My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical language within a totally communicative speaking activity. 19. My students find it difficult to use grammatical terminology. 20. My students are frustrated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar. Overall Mean 3. 8111 3. 5778 3. 6111 2. 9667 3. 5889 3. 3333 3. 4889 3. 2556 3. 5222 3. 4333 3. 0333 3. 0889 3. 3778 3. 8222 3. 2556 3. 5730 4. 1000 3. 7333 4. 0667 3. 6000 3. 5090 SD . 93490 . 97125 1. 04607 1. 49494 . 94684 1. 03858 1. 01941 1. 03382 1. 07293 1. 02825 1. 05415 1. 16739 . 97816 1. 5937 1. 25027 . 83785 . 90006 . 99210 . 87152 1. 08927 7. 71887 Table 4. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to their Gender (Males: N=39; Females: N=51) Statement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Gender Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Mean 3. 8718 3. 7647 3. 2308 3. 8431 3. 7436 3. 5098 3. 1282 2. 8431 3. 7949 3. 4314 3. 2821 3. 3725 3. 5128 3. 4706 3. 2051 3. 2941 3. 5128 3. 5294 3. 3846 3. 4706 3. 0769 3. 0000 3. 1282 3. 0588 SD . 86388 . 99173 1. 6281 . 80926 . 96567 1. 10223 1. 47219 1. 51489 . 95089 . 92206 1. 02466 1. 05756 . 79046 1. 17223 1. 10452 . 98578 . 99662 1. 13759 1. 09100 . 98697 1. 10940 1. 01980 1. 19603 1. 15606 F 1. 357 4. 942 1. 447 . 032 . 068 . 095 9. 319 . 295 1. 240 . 600 . 062 . 107 t . 536 3. 105 1. 051 . 895 1. 828 . 408 . 194 . 403 . 072 . 391 . 341 . 278 Sig. (2-tailed) . 593 . 003 . 296 . 373 . 071 . 684 . 847 . 688 . 943 . 697 . 734 . 782 International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 88 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ Statement 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 OverallGender Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Mean 3. 3333 3. 4118 3. 9231 3. 7451 3. 3590 3. 1765 3. 5385 3. 6000 4. 0769 4. 1176 3. 7179 3. 7451 3. 8974 4. 1961 3. 4359 3. 7255 3. 5077 3. 5100 SD . 98230 . 98339 1. 28523 1. 24649 1. 34726 1. 17823 . 82226 . 85714 . 98367 . 84017 .88700 1. 07412 . 94018 . 80049 1. 16517 1. 02134 6. 67887 8. 50930 F . 018 . 105 1. 363 . 174 . 023 1. 454 . 201 2. 494 1. 604 t . 375 . 662 . 684 . 342 . 212 . 128 1. 626 1. 254 . 028 Sig. (2-tailed) . 708 . 510 . 496 . 733 . 833 . 898 . 108 . 213 . 978 Table 5.Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to the Level taught Statement 1 Level 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 N 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 Mean 3. 8824 3. 5484 3. 9762 3. 8111 3. 5882 3. 2903 3. 7857 3. 5778 3. 7059 3. 5161 3. 6429 3. 6111 2. 7647 3. 4516 2. 6905 2. 9667 3. 7059 3. 6774 3. 4762 3. 5889 3. 1765 3. 3871 3. 3571 3. 3333 3. 6471 3. 4839 3. 4286 3. 889 3 . 6471 3. 2903 3. 0714 3. 2556 3. 7059 3. 5484 3. 4286 3. 5222 3. 7647 SD 1. 05370 1. 09053 . 71527 . 93490 1. 00367 . 97275 . 92488 . 97125 1. 04670 . 99569 1. 10036 1. 04607 1. 52190 1. 43385 1. 47314 1. 49494 . 77174 . 79108 1. 10956 . 94684 1. 01460 1. 02233 1. 07797 1. 03858 1. 16946 1. 06053 . 94075 1. 01941 . 99632 . 93785 1. 09082 1. 03382 1. 26317 1. 09053 . 99125 1. 07293 1. 20049 F 1. 970 Sig. .146 2 2. 394 .097 3 .213 .809 4 2. 593 .081 5 .557 .575 6 .242 .785 7 .274 .761 8 1. 943 .149 9 .413 1. 116 .663 . 332 10 International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 9 Statement 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Overall Level 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total N 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 41 89 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 Mean 3. 3871 3. 3333 3. 4333 2. 8824 3. 0968 3. 0476 3. 0333 3. 1176 3. 1290 3. 0476 3. 0889 3. 5294 3. 0645 3. 5476 3. 3778 4. 0000 3. 3871 4. 0714 3. 8222 3. 0588 3. 5161 3. 429 3. 2556 3. 6471 3. 7419 3. 4146 3. 5730 4. 2941 4. 0323 4. 0714 4. 1000 3. 6471 3. 6774 3. 8095 3. 7333 4. 3529 3. 9355 4. 0476 4. 0667 3. 5294 3. 5806 3. 6429 3. 6000 3. 5824 3. 4871 3. 4951 3. 5090 SD . 91933 1. 02806 1. 02825 1. 05370 1. 10619 1. 03482 1. 05415 1. 21873 1. 14723 1. 18841 1. 16739 1. 17886 . 99785 . 83235 . 97816 1. 22474 1. 22956 1. 23748 1. 25937 1. 39062 1. 17958 1. 24100 1. 25027 . 93148 . 68155 . 89375 . 83785 . 77174 . 87498 . 97262 . 90006 1. 27187 . 90874 . 94322 . 99210 . 70189 . 81386 . 96151 . 87152 1. 12459 1. 14816 1. 05510 1. 08927 7. 94466 8. 51652 7. 09156 7. 71887 F Sig. .230 .795 049 .953 2. 509 .087 2. 968 .057 1. 056 .352 1. 443 .242 .499 .609 .233 .792 1. 287 .281 .072 .931 .378 .686 Table 6. Teach ers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to their Qualifications Statement 1 Qualification MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total N 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 Mean 3. 5000 3. 8026 4. 3333 3. 8111 3. 6250 3. 5395 4. 0000 3. 5778 SD 1. 30931 . 89472 . 81650 . 93490 . 91613 . 99921 . 63246 . 97125 F 1. 394 Sig. .253 2 .630 .535 International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 90 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ Statement 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17Qualification MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma N 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 75 6 89 8 76 6 Mean 3. 5000 3. 5921 4. 00 00 3. 6111 3. 3750 2. 9605 2. 5000 2. 9667 3. 7500 3. 5526 3. 8333 3. 5889 2. 6250 3. 4079 3. 3333 3. 3333 3. 2500 3. 4605 4. 1667 3. 4889 3. 5000 3. 2237 3. 333 3. 2556 3. 1250 3. 5000 4. 3333 3. 5222 3. 3750 3. 4079 3. 8333 3. 4333 2. 7500 3. 0526 3. 1667 3. 0333 3. 5000 3. 0132 3. 5000 3. 0889 3. 2500 3. 4079 3. 1667 3. 3778 3. 1250 3. 8947 3. 8333 3. 8222 3. 3750 3. 2237 3. 5000 3. 2556 3. 5000 3. 5200 4. 3333 3. 5730 4. 5000 4. 0132 4. 6667 SD 1. 06904 1. 03509 1. 26491 1. 04607 1. 40789 1. 50058 1. 64317 1. 49494 1. 38873 . 91498 . 75277 . 94684 1. 30247 . 96854 1. 36626 1. 03858 1. 16496 1. 01247 . 75277 1. 01941 1. 06904 1. 02760 1. 21106 1. 03382 1. 24642 1. 05198 . 81650 1. 07293 1. 18773 1. 03509 . 75277 1. 02825 1. 58114 1. 00525 . 98319 1. 05415 1. 30931 1. 13717 1. 37840 1. 6739 1. 58114 . 86684 1. 47196 . 97816 1. 80772 1. 16137 1. 60208 1. 25937 1. 68502 1. 18433 1. 64317 1. 25027 1. 19523 . 77738 . 81650 . 83785 . 75593 . 91642 . 51640 F . 467 Sig. .629 .586 .559 .3 66 .694 2. 108 .128 1. 596 .209 .272 .762 2. 348 .102 .484 .618 .345 .710 1. 029 .362 .240 .787 1. 363 .261 .173 .842 2. 757 2. 407 .069 . 096 International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 91 Statement 18 19 20 Overall Qualification Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total N 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 Mean 4. 1000 3. 6250 3. 7632 3. 5000 3. 333 4. 0000 4. 0395 4. 5000 4. 0667 3. 8750 3. 5658 3. 6667 3. 6000 3. 4563 3. 4933 3. 7750 3. 5090 SD . 90006 1. 40789 . 92186 1. 37840 . 99210 . 75593 . 90097 . 54772 . 87152 1. 35620 1. 08733 . 81650 1. 08927 10. 98619 7. 29186 7. 44983 7. 71887 F Sig. .244 .784 .798 .453 .299 .742 1. 582 .211 Table 7. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to their Experience Statement 1 Exp. (yrs) ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 0 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 N 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 Mean 3. 5556 3. 9250 3. 9130 3. 8111 3. 4444 3. 5500 3. 7826 3. 5778 3. 4444 3. 8000 3. 4783 3. 6111 3. 2222 3. 1500 2. 3478 2. 9667 3. 7407 3. 5000 3. 5652 3. 5889 3. 2963 3. 4000 3. 2609 3. 3333 3. 4074 3. 5250 3. 5217 3. 4889 3. 1481 3. 2000 3. 4783 3. 2556 3. 8519 3. 3000 3. 5217 3. 5222 3. 3333 3. 4500 SD 1. 12090 . 91672 . 66831 . 93490 . 84732 . 95943 1. 12640 . 97125 . 97402 1. 01779 1. 16266 1. 04607 1. 52753 1. 45972 1. 40158 1. 49494 . 81300 1. 13228 . 2777 . 94684 1. 17063 . 98189 1. 00983 1. 03858 1. 24836 . 93336 . 89796 1. 01941 . 81824 1. 11401 1. 12288 1. 03382 1. 06351 1. 11401 . 94722 1. 07293 1. 03775 1. 06096 F 1. 457 Sig. .239 2 .778 .462 3 1. 185 .311 4 2. 772 .068 5 .525 .593 6 .153 .859 7 .121 .886 8 .733 .484 9 2. 189 . 214 .118 . 808 10 Interna tional Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 92 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ Statement 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Overall Exp. (yrs) ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total N 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 89 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 Mean 3. 5217 3. 4333 2. 8889 3. 0750 3. 1304 3. 0333 3. 3333 3. 0750 2. 8261 3. 0889 3. 3704 3. 2750 3. 5652 3. 3778 3. 4815 3. 8500 4. 1739 3. 8222 3. 1481 3. 2500 3. 3913 3. 2556 3. 6667 3. 5000 3. 5909 3. 5730 4. 0741 4. 1000 4. 1304 4. 1000 3. 6667 3. 8250 3. 6522 3. 7333 4. 0370 4. 0500 4. 1304 4. 0667 3. 4074 3. 000 3. 6522 3. 6000 3. 4759 3. 5250 3. 5201 3. 5090 SD . 99405 1. 02825 1. 25064 . 99711 . 9 1970 1. 05415 1. 14354 1. 11832 1. 26678 1. 16739 . 92604 1. 01242 . 99206 . 97816 1. 36918 1. 23101 1. 11405 1. 25937 1. 43322 1. 14914 1. 23359 1. 25027 . 87706 . 87706 . 73414 . 83785 1. 03500 . 74421 1. 01374 .90006 1. 03775 . 84391 1. 19121 . 99210 . 70610 . 90441 1. 01374 . 87152 1. 18514 1. 06699 1. 02730 1. 08927 9. 44364 7. 20399 6. 48558 7. 71887 F Sig. .377 .687 1. 182 .311 .639 .530 1. 935 .151 .232 .794 .321 .727 .024 .976 .304 .739 .083 .921 .612 .545 .140 .869 International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2