1.3. Purpose of the Study                                                                                                  8

 

1.4. Research Questions                                                                                                    9

 

1.5. Research Hypotheses                                                                                                 9

 

1.6. Definition of Keywords                                                                                              10

 

1.7. Limitation and Delimitation of the Study                                                                  10

 

 

 

CHAPTER II: Review of the Related Literature                                                              12

 

2.0. Overview                                                                                                                     13

 

2.1. Critical Pedagogy                                                                                                        13

 

2.1.1. Pedagogical Approach in Critical Pedagogy                                                    16

 

2.1.2. Critical Pedagogy and Educational Process                                                     21

 

2.1.3. Critical Pedagogy and the Teachers’ Role                                                        24

 

2.1.4. Critical Pedagogy and Teacher Success                                                           27

 

2.1.5. Curriculum in CP                                                                                              30

 

2.2. Pre-service teacher                                                                                                      31

 

2.2.1. The difficult and stimulating tasks of pre-service teacher training                   33

 

2.2.2. Advancing ELT teachers for future and Critical Pedagogy                             35

 

 

 

CHAPTER III: Methodology                                                                                         41

 

3.0. Overview                                                                                                                     42

 

3.1. Setting and Participants                                                                                              42

 

3.2. Instruments                                                                                                                 43

 

3.2.1. Critical Pedagogy Attitude Questionnaire                                                       43

 

3.2.2IELTS (International English Language Testing System)                                  45

 

3.3. Procedure                                                                                                                    45

 

3.3.1. Data Collection                                                                                                 45

 

3.3.2. Data Analysis                                                                                                    46

 

3.4. Ethical Considerations                                                                                                46

 

 

 

CHAPTER IV: Results and Discussion                                                                              48

 

4.0. Overview                                                                                                                     49

 

4.1. Main Results                                                                                                               49

 

4.2. Discussion                                                                                                                   54

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER V: Conclusion and Recommendations                                                           57

 

5.0. Overview                                                                                                                     58

 

5.1. Summary                                                                                                                     58

 

5.2. Brief Overview of the Findings                                                                                  59

 

5.3. Theoretical and Pedagogical Implications                                                                  60

 

 

5.4. Suggestions for Further Research                                                                               61

 

REFERENCES                                                                                                                    62

 

 

 

APPENDIXES                                                                                                                      74

 

Appendix A: Critical Pedagogy Attitude Questionnaire                                                      75

 

Appendix B: The Female Group with IELTS Band Score 6                                                77

 

Appendix C: The Female Group with IELTS Band Score 5                                                79

 

Appendix D: The Female Group with IELTS Band Score 6                                                            81

 

Appendix E: The Female Group with IELTS Band Score 5                                                 82

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List of Tables

 

Table 3.1: Participants’ Characteristics                                                                                   44

 

Table 3.2: Reliability Coefficient                                                                                            44

 

Table 4.1: Stastistical Description Critical Pedagogy Attitude Questionnaire and total Band Scores, 6 and 5, of IELTS proficiency test                                                                               49

 

Table 4.2: One Sample Kolmogorov- Smirnov Test                                                               50

 

Table 4.3: Group Statistics between IELTS Band Scores                                                      51

 

Table 4.4: Independent Samples T-Test between Critical Pedagogy Attitude Questionnaire and total Band Scores, 6 and 5, of IELTS proficiency test                                                    51

 

Table 4.5: Group Statistics between Male Group and Female Group                                    52

 

Table 4.6: Independent Samples T-Test between Critical Pedagogy Attitude Questionnaire and Gender Difference                                                                                                                               52

 

Table 4.7: Effect Size                                                                                                             53

 

Table 5.1: The Brief Overview of All Independent Samples Test                                        60

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER I

 

Introduction

 

1.1. Overview

 

Freire (1970) Critical Pedagogy can be analyzed in many fields of study.

 

In this respect, Critical Pedagogy (CP) announced to be the way to analyze, education including English Language Teaching (ELT), a new dimension, which has the interaction of social and political elements to holds the view which education is not impartial, and it both affects and is affected by the social and political elements (Freire, 1970).

 

Critical pedagogy tries to face students with more aims of education to make autonomous students; it is stated that learners acquire their own voice to participate critically in their own processing; that is, confident learners are capable of critiquing learning problems and begin to seek even instruction in their classrooms _what will we have to act in a society in the future?(Freire, 1970).

 

Recently, ELT researchers try to administer the view of CP to study language learning and acquisition; that is, they are looking for utilizing this social and political theory in assisting teaching as a component of education.

 

Therefore, they are starting to understand the sociopolitical elements with the represent of the critical viewpoint many scholars in ELT industry as uncovering the hidden aim of scholars’ thoughts and ideologies (Freire, 1970).

 

Critical theory is interested in the concepts of human beings and the relations between them such as cultural, economic, political, and the power to influence people’s behavior or course of events (Freire, 1973).

 

Through enabling convert of life requirements, a philosopher of critical theory agrees on satisfying free oppressed members of a race religion or culture (Freire, 1973).

 

Also, according to Freire (1970), utilizing the body of bases belonging to critical subjects is the main source in language teaching and learning.

 

Thus, Pre-service teacher education may take advantage of Critical Pedagogy to provide professional ELT teachers before the real actual teaching (Schon, 1996).

 

A main disclosure during such critical education theory can be the practical section of a course of study when the pre-service teachers are trained to face their students’ critical thoughts within multiple school settings (beginning to advanced courses) (Schon, 1996).

 

According to Schon(1996), the pre-service teachers will be had the chance to improve their skills through classroom curriculum, teaching lessons, and lesson plans to allow Critical Pedagogy is run.

 

Therefore, this consoled and vital aspect is the main component of any course, such as ELT courses, to be assigned in curriculums.

 

Also, because of the viewpoint of critical pedagogy, teachers are capable of bearing the task of questioning the inappropriate curriculums to assist their own learners in language processing, for example (Canagarajah, 1999).

 

According to Hall (1995), socio-historical and political elements are parts of ELT components which are related to the theory of language learning and teaching in social characteristics of learners.

 

It seems that Critical Pedagogy is able to gain the momentum to come from a huge amount of experiment to create conditions to help learners in recent years. In spite of acquiring multiple researchers in this area from the past and recent years, it seems that a few papers could target the main and vital characters of Critical Pedagogy in ELT.

 

Thus, the present study tries to bright a major theme in CP including teacher, for example, in CP. However, Okazaki (2005) argued that classrooms are far removed from conditions which deal with historical and social aspects.

 

Critical theory face the view of a society in which people require to control political, economic, and cultural aspects of their lives(Kincheloe, 2005).

 

Critical Pedagogy may be the approach to assist language teachers, for example, to concern the power of learners’ relations with the processed language and their society which they live. Critical Pedagogy (CP) is a start to deal with in a certain way of language teaching and learning.

 

Kincheloe (2005) believed that converting connections between people or groups of abilities which are depressing leads to depression among the people. CP seeks to give human qualities to learning (Kincheloe, 2005).

 

Likewise, according to Kincheloe (2005), advocates of critical theory assume that these aims are satisfied only through liberating unsuccessful learners to empower their abilities to change their educational conditions.

 

The main assumption of Critical Pedagogy is with criticizing the educational context in societies. As Gor (2005) puts it, the main goals of Critical Pedagogy are conscious raising and rejecting any signs of discrimination against people in any field.

 

Therefore, this theory seeks to help unsuccessful learners, for example, to save them from being objects of acquisition to subjects of their own autonomy in learning.

 

With this respect, learners are able to change their societies via appropriate education; that is, it is done through problem solving, surveying the problematic subjects in learners’ lives, and developing a critical awareness to assist learners to improve their educational conditions because it is important to take appropriate actions to structure and equitable society (Gor, 2005). Thus, it is crystal clear that Critical Pedagogy face any inappropriate dominations with the goal of assisting unsuccessful people to achieve their demands.

 

Moreover, “language learning theory, and teaching should focus on larger socio-historical and political forces which reside in the social identities of people who use them” (as cited in Aliakbari1 & Faraji, 2011, p. 78). However, Okazaki (2005) claimed that most teachers ignore historical and social conditions of their classrooms.

 

According to Okazaki (2005), as a consequence, researchers advocating examining socio-historical and political aspects of language learning (Benesch, 2001; Canagarajah, 1999, 2002; Morgan 1998). They recommended an optional access – critical pedagogy- which some researchers mentioned it.

 

It may be the main organ of language pedagogy (Aliakbari1 & Faraji, 2011). It is wondered to see that Critical Pedagogy has increased in impetus recently; therefore, some substantiation come from a lot of researches about CP to accept this claim.

 

Byean (2011) claimed that Critical Pedagogy mainly supports teachers to investigate English language in relation to the historical and cultural issues.

 

However, English teachers must understand ELT with more judgmental minds; furthermore, Critical Pedagogy may encourage English teachers to obtainthe role of English to clarify how ELT is affected with the procreation of social unfairness in distinctive backgrounds (Byean, 2011).

 

In fact, critical theory was the point of commencement for Critical Pedagogy (Aliakbari1 & Faraji, 2011).

 

 

Acknowledgement

 

Chapter 1: Introduction

 

1.1. General Background

 

1.2. The Argument

 

1.2.1. Research Questions

 

1.3. Literature Review

 

1.4. Thesis Outline

 

1.5. Methodology and Approach

 

1.6. Motivation and Delimitation

 

1.7. Definition of Key Terms

 

Chapter 2: The Postmodern Theory of Jean-François Lyotard

 

2.1. Jean-François Lyotard

 

2.2. The Postmodernist Movement

 

2.3. Early Marxist Activities

 

2.4. The Pragmatics of Knowledge

 

2.5. Modern Criteria of Legitimation

 

              2.6. Postmodern Criteria of Legitimation

 

2.7. The development of Capitalist System

 

2.8. The Semiotics and the Linguistic Based Culture

 

2.9. The Postmodern Self (Social Subject)

 

2.10. The Complementary Approaches of Baudrillard and Foucault

 

Chapter 3: Language Games

 

3.1. Studying Capitalism, Power, Language Game and Reality in “Thanasphere”

 

3.1.1 Synopsis

 

3.1.2 Commentary

 

3.2. Studying Capitalism, Reality, Language Game and Power in “Souvenir”

 

3.2.1 Synopsis

 

3.2.2 Commentary

 

3.3. Studying Language Game, Power, Capitalism and Alienation in “The Cruise

 

of the Jolly Roger”

 

3.3.1 Synopsis

 

3.3.2 Commentary

 

3.4. Studying Capitalism, Disciplinary Power, Language Game and Reality in

 

“2BR02B”

 

3.4.1 Synopsis

 

3.4.2 Commentary

 

Chapter 4: Grand Narratives

 

4.1. Studying Grand Narrative, Capitalism and Social Class in “The Package”

 

4.1.1 Synopsis

 

4.1.2 Commentary

 

 

4.2. Studying Grand Narrative, Capitalism and Performativity in “Poor Little Rich

 

Town”

 

4.2.1. Synopsis

 

4.2.2. Commentary

 

4.3. Studying Grand Narrative, Capitalism and Commodity in “Custom-Made

 

Bride”

 

4.3.1. Synopsis

 

4.3.2. Commentary

 

Chapter 5: Conclusion

 

5.1. Summary

 

5.2. Findings

 

5.3. Suggestions for Further Research

 

Works Cited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter One

 

                                           Introduction

 

 

 

 

 

1.1. General Background

 

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007) is renowned as a prominent American novelist and essayist. Vonnegut was one of the celebrated writers of post-World War ΙΙ in American literature. He defined himself as an atheist, agnostic and freethinker. The significant characteristic of his writing career is that for the most part in his works he combined satiric social observation and black comedy; also, he utilized surrealist and imaginary elements.

 

Several of his novels included science fiction themes. Actually, Vonnegut made use of the elements of science fiction and metafiction to direct the reader’s attention to the more serious issues associated with ethics and politics. His simple writing style is deceptive since it misleads the reader from perceiving the tense and unspeakable agony of the individual’s life in the twentieth century.

 

As a postmodern writer, in his writing Vonnegut employs some specific features; that is, the disorder in the narrative events and disruption of time or mixing past, present and future, blending of different genres, drawing the pictures, symbols or designs in the text, vicious circles and paranoia. In his works the limerick, humorous and jokes are entangled to narrate the serious facts that are really happened in Vonnegut’s lifetime.

 

The crucial event in Vonnegut’s life which had a profound influence on him and consequently on his writing career could be the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, by Allied armies in 1945, a horrifying happening he witnessed personally as a young captive of war. His understanding in Dresden laid the grounds for his greatest novel Slaughterhouse-Five published in 1969 as an obvious attack on the terrors of war in Vietnam, racial turmoil and cultural and social cataclysm.

 

Accordingly, there is linkage between Vonnegut’s life and works. War, genocide, environmental determinism, atomic bomb and technological advancement were all engendered in the postmodern epoch. He disapproved the technological science and the political economy. Common themes in Vonnegut’s works consist of the dehumanization resulted by the improvement of technology, Sexuality, fierceness, hopelessness, bewilderment, alienation, insecurity and depression.

 

Vonnegut was a humanist. He maintained that in the postmodern era the human being is a hapless, lonely, bewildered and desperate victim; he is robbed of his identity and integrity to transform to a totally dependent social subject. In an alien world organized by machines, the individual tries to cope with the forces beyond his control. In his novels Vonnegut compassionately praised the characters who refuse to surrender to despair and defeat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………IIIACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………….…………………………….IV

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………V

 

LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………….……………VIII

 

LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………….………………….IX

 

CHAPTER I: BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE………………………………1

 

1.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………2

 

1.2 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………………7

 

1.3 Statement of the Research Question…………………………………….…………………….9

 

1.4 Statement of the Research Hypothesis…………….………………………………………….10

 

1.5 Definition of Key Terms………………………………………….………………………….10

 

1.5.1 Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) ……….………………..…..……….………….10

 

1.5.2 Reading Comprehension…….…………………………………………………………..10

 

1.6 Significance of the Study……………………………………………..………………………11

 

1.7 Limitations and Delimitations …………..……………………………………………….…..12

 

1.7.1 Limitations……………………………………………………….………………………12

 

1.7.2 Delimitations……………………………………………………………………………..13

 

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE………………15

 

2.1Introduction…………………………………….………..….…..……………………………16

 

2.2 Reading…………………………………………………………….…………………………16

 

2.2.1 Models of Reading………………………………………………………………………..17

 

2.2.2 Components of Reading…………………………………………………………………..19

 

2.2.3 Foreign Language Reading……………………………………………………………….20

 

2.3 Reading Comprehension……………………………………………………………………..22

 

 

2.3.1 Definitions of Reading Comprehension…………………………………………………..24

 

2.3.2 Categories of Reading Comprehension………………………………..…………………25

 

2.3.3 Influential Factors in Reading Comprehension………………………….………………27

 

2.4 Reading Strategies……………………………………………………………………………28

 

 

 

 

V

 

2.4.1 Definitions of Reading Strategies………………………………………………………..30

 

2.4.2 Categories of Reading Strategies…………………………………………….…………..31

 

2.4.3 Reading Strategies and Reading Comprehension…………………………..……………32

 

2.4.4 Reading Strategies Studies in Iran………………………………………….……………35

 

2.5 Skilled Versus Unskilled Readers……………………………………………………………36

 

2.6 Collaborative Strategic Reading……………………………………………………………..42

 

2.6.1 Strategies Used in Collaborative Strategic Reading………………………..……………42

 

2.6.2 Collaborative Strategic Reading Training………………………………………………..47

 

2.6.3 Theoretical Background for CSR…………………………………………….…………..54

 

2.6.4 Studies Related to Collaborative Strategic Reading…………………………..…………62

 

CHAPTER III: METHOD…………………………….………………………..68

 

3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………..………………69

 

3.2 Participants……………………………………………………………………………………69

 

3.3 Instrumentation………………………………………………………………………………70

 

3.3.1 Language Proficiency Test Used for Homogenization……………………………….….70

 

3.3.2 Rating Scales…………………………………………………………..………………….72

 

3.3.2.1 Writing Rating Scale of PET……………………………………………..………….72

 

3.3.2.2 Speaking Rating Scale of PET……………………………………………………….72

 

3.3.3 Pretest……………………………………………………………………………………..72

 

3.3.4 Post-test …………………………………………………………………………………..73

 

3.3.5 Material………………………………………………………………………………..….73

 

3.3.6 Cue Cards………………………………………………………………………………….74

 

3.3.7 CSR Learning Logs……………………………………………………………………….75

 

3.3.8 Clunk Cards ………………………………………………………………………………75

 

3.4 Procedure…………………………………………………………………………….………76

 

 

3. 5 Design of the Study………………………………………………………………………….89

 

3.6 Statistical Analysis……………………………………………………………………………89

 

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION……………………………….91

 

4.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..92

 

4.2 Participant Selection…………………………………………………………………………92

 

 

 

 

VI

 

4.2.1 Descriptive Statistics of the PET Proficiency Test Piloting……………………………..93

 

4.2.2 Descriptive Statistics of the PET Proficiency Test Administration…………..…………97

 

 

4. 3 Dividing the Participants into the Two Groups…………………………………….……….98

 

4.3.1 Descriptive Statistics of Reading Comprehension Pretest Piloting…………..…………98

 

4.3.2 Descriptive Statistics of Reading Comprehension Post-test Piloting…………..……….99

 

4.4 Checking the Normality……………………………………………………………………100

 

4.5 Pretest of Reading Comprehension Administration……………………………………..…101

 

4.6 Research Question………………………………………………………………………….103

 

4.7 Criterion Referenced Validity………………………………………………………………106

 

4.7.1 K-R 21 Reliability Indices…………………………………………………….………..107

 

4.8 Discussion………………………………………………………………………………….107

 

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS..109

 

5.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………110

 

5.2 Conclusion………………………………………………………………….………………111

 

5.3 Pedagogical Implications…………………………………………………..……………….111

 

5.3.1 Implications for EFL Teachers……………………………………………….…………112

 

5.3.2 Implications for EFL Learners……….………………………………………..…….…113

 

5.3.3 Implications for EFL Syllabus Designers and Curriculum Developers………….…….113

 

5.4 Suggestions for Further Research…………………………………………………………..114

 

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………….116

 

APPENDICES………………………………………………………..…………130

 

Appendix A: Language Proficiency Test Used for Homogenization (PET)…………..……….

 

Appendix B: Writing Rating Scale of PET………………………………..……………………

 

Appendix C: Speaking Rating Scale of PET……………………………………………………

 

Appendix D: Pretest……………………………………………………………….……………

 

Appendix E: Post-test…………………………………………………………………………..

 

Appendix F: Cooperative Learning Group Roles………………………………………………

 

Appendix G: CSR Learning Log……………………………………………………………….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	VII

 

 

 

LIST OF TABLES

 

 

 

Table 3.1: Number of Participants in Experimental and Control Groups………..………………69

 

Table 3.2: Stage 1 of CSR’s Plan for Strategic Reading……………………………..…………..81

 

Table 3.3: Stage 2 of CSR’s Plan for Strategic Reading…………………………..……………..83

 

Table 3.4: Stage 3 of CSR’s Plan for Strategic Reading………………………………………….84

 

Table 3.5: Stage 4 of CSR’s Plan for Strategic Reading……………………………..…………..86

 

Table 4.1: Descriptive Statistics of the PET Piloting……………………………………………93

 

Table 4.2: Reliability of the PET Piloting before Deletion of Malfunctioning Items……………94

 

Table 4.3: Reliability of the PET Piloting after Deletion of 3 Items……………………….……94

 

Table 4.4: Inter-rater Reliability of the Two Raters in the Piloting of Writing Part 2….….…….95

 

Table 4.5: Inter-rater Reliability of the Two Raters in the Piloting of Writing Part 3………..….95

 

Table 4.6: Inter-rater Reliability of the Two Raters in the Piloting of Speaking…………….….96

 

Table 4.7: Descriptive Statistics of the PET Administration……………………………………97

 

Table 4.8: Reliability of the PET Administration……………………………………….………97

 

Table 4.9: Descriptive Statistics of Reading comprehension Pretest Piloting……………..……98

 

Table 4.10: Reliability of the Reading Comprehension Pretest Piloting…………………..……99

 

4.11: Descriptive Statistics of the Reading Comprehension Post-test Piloting…………………99

 

4.12: Reliability of the Reading Comprehension Post-test Piloting……………………………100

 

Table 4.13: Normality Assumptions……………………………………………………………101

 

Table 4.14: Descriptive Statistics of Pretest of Reading comprehension by Groups………..…102

 

Table 4.15: Independent t-test of Pretest of Reading comprehension by Groups…………..….102

 

Table 4.16: Descriptive Statistics of Post-test of Reading comprehension by Groups…………104

 

Table 4.17:  Independent t-test of Post-test of Reading Comprehension by Groups…………..105

 

Table 4.18:  Pearson Correlation PET with Pretest and Post-test of Reading Comprehension…107

 

Table 4.19: K-R 21 Reliability Indices…………………………………………………………107

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	VIII

 

 

 

LIST OF FIGURES

 

 

 

Figure 3.1: Sample CSR Cue Card…………………………………………………..…………..74

 

Figure 3. 2: A Sample Clunk Card………………………………………………….……………76

 

Figure 3. 3: CSR’s Plan for Strategic Reading……………………………………………………80

 

Figure4. 1: Pretest of Reading Comprehension by Groups………………………….…………103

 

Figure4.2: Post-test of Reading Comprehension by Groups……………………………………106

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	IX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

1.1 Introduction

 

 

 

Reading is an inseparable part of daily life and the most necessary skill for it. It is a process involving the activation of relevant knowledge and related language skills to accomplish an exchange of information from one person to another. It requires the reader to focus his/her attention on the reading materials and integrate previously acquired knowledge and skill to comprehend what someone else has written (Chastain, 1988, p. 216).

 

Reading is a receptive skill, similar to listening, during which readers decode the message of the writer and try to recreate it anew (Rashtchi & Keyvanfar, 2010, P. 141). In fact, reading can be seen as a dialogue between the reader and the text or between the reader and the author. During this active involvement, the reader tries to either construct their personal interpretation of the text or get at the author’s original intention.

 

What has to be noted is that in real life, reading does not happen in a vacuum. It is always done within a social context for a specific reason. We might read to get information on how to do something such as reading a manual, or to learn something like studying our course books. We sometimes read in order to socialize with our friends like reading their email or read in order to organize our daily life matters such as finding the shortest route to a certain destination. Many times we find ourselves reading for pleasure such as reading a novel or browsing the internet. In some situations, we may read for a combination of reasons.

 

Reading comprehension as the “essence of reading” (Durkin, 1993, P. 4) occurs when a mental concept of meaning is created from the written text. To do this, “The reader extracts and integrates various kinds of information from the text and combines it with what is already known” (Koda, 2005, P. 4).

 

Effective reading is not something that every individual learns to do (Nunan, 1999, P. 249). Learning to reading is difficult especially for those reading in a second or foreign language (Celce-Murcia, 1979). Since reading is one of the most complex cognitive processes, there are a number of skills that contribute to fluent reading comprehension, and it is especially so in the context of L2 reading (Sepp & Morvay, 2010, p. 9). However, the widespread attention to reading predominantly focuses on early reading instruction, such as phonological awareness, decoding, and word identification instruction (Burns, Griffin, Kuldanek & Snow 1998).

 

To improve learners’ reading abilities, effective strategies, skills and assistant tools should be carefully considered (Oxford, 1990). The concept of strategy is defined by a number of scholars. Strategies are specific actions, behaviors, steps, or techniques that students (often intentionally) use to improve their progress in developing L2 skills (Oxford, 1990). These strategies can facilitate the internalization, storage, retrieval, or use of the new language. They are tools for the self-directed involvement necessary for developing language skills (Oxford, 1990). Many attempts have been done in order to determine and identify strategies especially influencing in the complex process of reading comprehension. In particular, many researchers have been interested in understanding what good readers typically do or posses while they read (e.g., Block, 1992; Brantmeier, 2002; Burns, Roe, & Ross, 1999; Erten & Topkaya, 2009; Heidari, 2010; Lehr, Osborn, & Hiebert, 2005; Kondo-Brown, 2006).

 

Interest in reading strategies among ESL/ EFL practitioners to conduct research began in the late 1960s and early 1970s along with various fields such as psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, and education. Common to most of these streams was a desire to account for differences between “good” and “poor” readers and compare the types of strategies the former group employed which contributed to their successes and distinction.

 

Singhal (2001) emphasizes the crucial role of reading strategies by stating that, “They are of interest for what they reveal about the way readers manage their interactions with written text, and how these strategies are related to reading comprehension” (p. 78).

 

Despite using the related strategies in reading, the results of reading from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed that many students are still not able to read fluently. There are some reasons behind low reading scores such as lack of phonological awareness, phonics-related skills, not being familiar with and using proper reading strategies fully. It seems that these points were overlooked in most approaches related to teaching reading (Standish, 2005).

 

As mentioned before, reading is a complex process. So, it seems that using one or two strategies alone is not sufficient for being an effective reader therefore, according to Standish (2005), what is needed is a specific approach consisting of the combination of different strategies that improve reading comprehension. This approach is called “Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR)”.

 

Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) is proposed by three researchers Klingner, Vaughn, and Schumm in 2001. According to Klingner, Vaughn, and Schumm (as cited in Standish, 2005), CSR was designed to address three important issues in reading instruction. The first, was meeting the needs of the increasingly diverse classrooms in the United States, including English-language learners. Second, CSR provided strategy instruction that increased the students’ comprehension of text and their ability to retain and transfer their new knowledge. Third, CSR was designed to facilitate collaborative, peer-mediated instruction among students in the content area classroom.

 

It is an assembly of strategies that have been proven through research, to be associated with improved outcomes in reading comprehension. CSR integrates word identification, reciprocal reading, and cooperative learning. Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) is a set of four strategies which struggling readers can use to decode and comprehend as they read content area text as follows:

 

 

 

 

1.3: Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………………………………. 7

 

1.3.1. Merits of the integration of technology in English language education………………. 8

 

1.3.2. Drawbacks of the integration of technology in English language education……….. 9

 

1.4: Research Questions……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9

 

1.5: Research Hypotheses…………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

 

1.6: Definitions of Key Terms…………………………………………………………………………………….. 10

 

1.7: Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

 

Chapter 2: Review of the Literature

 

2.0. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11

 

2.1. Autonomy and Self-study Programs…………………………………………………………………….. 11

 

2.2. Language Training Software Packages…………………………………………………………………. 12

 

2.3. Assessing Attitude, Belief, Perception and Motivation in CALL………………………….. 13

 

2.4. Online vs. Traditional Way of Language Learning………………………………………………. 23

 

2.5. Barriers to the Integration of CALL……………………………………………………………………… 25

 

2.6. Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26

 

Chapter 3: Methodology

 

3.0. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 27

 

3.1. The Design of the Study………………………………………………………………………………………. 27

 

3.2. Participants………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 28

 

3.3. Materials and Instruments……………………………………………………………………………………. 28

 

3.3.1. Placement Test………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 28

 

3.3.2. Questionnaire……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 29

 

3.3.3. Software Packages…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 29

 

3.4. Procedure…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 31

 

3.5. Methods of Analyzing the Data……………………………………………………………………………. 32

 

3.6. Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 33

 

Chapter 4: Results

 

4.0. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 34

 

4.1. The Results of the Reliability Analyses of the OPT test and Attitude Questionnaire (Pilot Study)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 35

 

4.2. The Results of OPT Test for the Sampling Purpose………………………………………………. 36

 

4.3. Descriptive Statistics for the Items of the Attitude Questionnaire……………………….. 38

 

4.4. Inferential Statistics for the Attitude Questionnaire…………………………………………….. 57

 

4.5. Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 60

 

Chapter 5: Discussion

 

5.0. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 61

 

5.1. General Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………………… 61

 

5.2. Implications of the Study…………………………………………………………………………………….. 68

 

5.3. Limitations of the Study………………………………………………………………………………………. 68

 

5.4. Suggestions for further Research…………………………………………………………………………. 69

 

5.5. Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 69

 

 

 

 

References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 70

 

Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 80

 

 

 

List of Tables

 

Table                                                                                                                              Pages                                                                                               

 

Table 4.1: Reliability Statistics for the OPT test…………………………………………………………. 35

 

Table 4.2: Suggested Standards (Adopted From Barker, Pistrang, and Elliott, 1994…… 36

 

Table 4.3: Statistics For the OPT Test…………………………………………………………………………. 37

 

Table 4.4: Item Statistics for the for the Attitude Questionnaire…………………………………. 38

 

Table 4.5: Item 1: Learning A Language Using Computer Software Was An Interesting Experience…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 41

 

Table 4.6: Item 2: Language learning May be Important to My Goals, But I Do not Expect It to be Much Fun…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 41

 

Table 4.7: Item 3: It Is Easier to Learn A Language at Home without Classroom Pressure  42

 

Table 4.8: Item 4: I Worry a Lot About Making Mistakes in Classroom……………………… 43

 

Table 4.9: Item 5:I Think Working at Home; Using Rosetta StoneTell me more Is More of a Computer Game than a Serious Instruction…………………………………………………………………………………. 43

 

Table 4.10: Item 6: I have found that classroom attendance is not the only way to learn a language…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 44

 

Table 4.11: Item 7: I would like to learn English, provided I allocate flexible time per week        45

 

Table 4.12: Item 8: I Will Recommend Rosetta Stone/TELL ME MORE to My Friends.      45

 

Table 4.13: Item: 9 I would like to learn English through videos, photos, and graphics not just studying textbooks……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 46

 

Table 4.14: Item 10: Learning with Computers Offers More Advantages over Traditional Methods of Language Education…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 46

 

Table 4.15: Item 11: Computers Are Useful for Language Learning…………………………… 47

 

Table 4.16:Item 12: I Have No Difficulty in Operating the Basic Functions of Computers as far as Language-Learning Software Is Concerned………………………………………………………………… 47

 

Table 4.17: Item 13: Computers Have Proved to be Effective Learning Tools Worldwide 48

 

Table 4.18: Item 14: Students Prefer Learning from Teachers to Learning from Computers          49

 

Table 4.19: Item 15: I Think I Could Spend More Time Practicing Skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) Using Rosetta StoneTell me more…………………………………………………………. 49

 

Table 4.20: Item 16: I Prefer to Learn English through Rosetta StoneTell me more Because I Can Adjust My Own Speed of Learning…………………………………………………………………………….. 50

 

Table 4.21: Item 17: I Would Rather Take A Formal Course Than A Self-Study Program  51

 

Table 4.22: Item 18: Rosetta Stone/Tell me more Is So User-Friendly. It Is Quite Convenient for Me as an Ordinary Computer User……………………………………………………………………………………. 51

 

Table 4.23: Item 19: I Enjoyed the Lessons of Rosetta StoneTell Me More……………….. 52

 

Table 4.24: Item 20: I Think Speech Recognition System in Rosetta StoneTELL ME MORE Can Help You Sound Like a Native Speaker………………………………………………………………………………. 53

 

Table 4.25: Item 21: It Gradually Becomes Boring Working with Rosetta StoneTell me more     53

 

Table 4.26: Item 22: It Is Important to Practice Prefabricated Conversation but There Is Not Such a Thing in Rosetta StoneTell me more………………………………………………………………………….. 54

 

Table 4.27: Item 23: The Speech Recognition System In Rosetta StoneTell me more Is Very Complicated. I Cannot Adjust My Tone to That of the Native Speaker’s……………………. 54

 

Table 4.28: Item 24: It Is a Good Idea to Use Rosetta StoneTell me more but not as the Main Source of Education……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 55

 

Table 4.29: Item 25: Diverse and Colorful Photos Used in Rosetta StoneTell me more Have Enormous Appeal………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 56

 

Table 4.30: Item 26: If I Cannot Pursue a Formal Course In English, Anyway I Prefer to Use Rosetta StoneTell me more…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 56

 

Table 4.31: Item 27: I Cannot Imagine How Exciting It Was to Practice at Home Using Rosetta StoneTell me more…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 57

 

Table 4.32: Ranks of group (A) and (B) for their Attitudes………………………………………… 58

 

Table 4.33: Mann Whitney U Test for EFL learners’ Attitudes towards the Packages…. 58

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List of Figures

 

Figure                                                                                                                             Page

 

Figure 4.1 the Comparison between Groups (A) And (B) With Respect To Their Attitudes towards the Two Language Learning Packages (“Tell Me More” and “Rosetta Stone”)………………….. 58

 

 

 

Abstract                                

 

 

2.1. Overview ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..  8

 

2.2. History of Intertextuality…………………………………………………………………………………… 8

 

2.3. Types of Intertextuality…………………………………………………………………………………… 11

 

2.3.1.Horizontal or Vertical Reference…………………………………………………………………….. 11

 

2.3.2. Manifest or constitutive Reference    …………………………………………………………….    12

 

2.3.3. Active versus passive Intertextuality………………………………………………………………. 12

 

2.4. Scope of Intertextuality…………………………………………………………………………………… 12

 

2.5. Poetry……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12

 

2.6. Forms of Intertextuality…………………………………………………………………………………… 13

 

 

2. 7. Allusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 14

 

2. 7.1.Functions of Allusion…………………………………………………………………………………… 15

 

2.7.2. Forms of Allusion ………………………………………………………………………………………… 15

 

2.7.3. Types of Allusion …………………………………………………………………………………………. 16

 

2.7.3.1. Religious Allusion……………………………………………………………………………………… 16

 

2.7.3.2. Literary Allusion ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 17

 

2.7.3.3. Mythological Allusion……………………………………………………………………………….. 18

 

2.7.3.4. Historical Allusion…………………………………………………………………………………….. 18

 

2.7.3.5. Proper-Name Allusion……………………………………………………………………………….. 19

 

2.7.3.6. Key-Phrase Allusion ………………………………………………………………………………….. 20

 

2.7.4. Potential Strategies for translating Allusion …………………………………………………….. 20

 

2.7.5. Complication of translating Allusive Texts ……………………………………………………… 27

 

2.8. Poetry Translation…………………………………………………………………………………………… 28

 

2.8.1. Possibility of Poetry Translation …………………………………………………………………….. 28

 

2.8.2. Types of Poetry Translation…………………………………………………………………………… 31

 

2.8.3. Methods of translating poetry……………………………………………………………………….. 34

 

2.8.4. Linguistic Problems……………………………………………………………………………………… 35

 

2.8.5. Literary or aesthetic Problems……………………………………………………………………….. 35

 

2.8.6. Poetic Structure…………………………………………………………………………………………… 35

 

2.8.7. Socio-cultural problems ………………………………………………………………………………… 35

 

Chapter three: Methodology………………………………………………………………………………… 36

 

3.1. Overview……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 37

 

3.2. Restatement of the research questions  ………………………………………………………………. 37

 

3.3. Materials ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 38

 

3.3.1. Mantiq ut-Tair……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 38

 

3.3.2. Nott’s Translation………………………………………………………………………………………….. 38

 

3.3.3. Darbandi’s and Davis’ Translation ………………………………………………………………….. 39

 

3.4. Procedures …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 39

 

Chapter Four: Data Analysis and Results …………………………………………………………….. 40

 

4.1. Overview ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 41

 

 

4.2. Analysis of the Data……………………………………………………………………………………….. 41

 

4.2.1. Key-phrase Allusions in Attar’s Mantiq ut-Tair………………………………………………….. 41

 

4.3. Results ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 69

 

Chapter Five: Discussion and Conclusions ……………………………………………………………. 74

 

5.1. Overview………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75

 

5.2. Strategies Used for Key-phrases Allusion  …………………………………………………………. 76

 

5.3. Concluding Remarks ………………………………………………………………………………………. 76

 

5.4. Limitations of the Study ………………………………………………………………………………….. 77

 

5.5. Implications of the Study ………………………………………………………………………………… 77

 

5.6. Suggestions for Further Research……………………………………………………………………… 77

 

References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 78

 

Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 84

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgements

 

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr.  H. Vahid Dastjerdi for his guidance, advice and constructive comments on the topic in question and providing advice and guidance throughout the research period.

 

My special thanks also go to Dr. M. R. Talebinejad for his advice, help and encouragement. And also I am grateful to my brother, Saadi, M.A. English teaching from University of Tehran.

 

Finally and most importantly, I thank my God for granting me health and fitness and inspiring me hope and encouragement to accomplish this work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List of Tables

 

Table 1   ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 68

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List of Figures

 

Figure 2.1……………………………………………………………………………………………… 22

 

Figure 2.2……………………………………………………………………………………………… 23

 

Figure 4.3……………………………………………………………………………………………… 69

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract

 

The present study focused on two English translations of KP allusions in Attar’s
Mantiq ut-Tair. Attar’s Mantiq ut-Tair which has been translated by Nott (1954), Darbandi and Davis (1984) was used in the study. It also considered the strategies by Leppihalme (1997, p. 96) which two translators utilized when doing the job in order to transfer the meaning of the ST into TT. The present study compared two English translations of Mantiq ut-Tair with each other to find out what translation strategies have the translators used to convey the intertextual allusive items to the TT and to what extent the true sense of KP allusion in Mantiq ut Tair has been transferred to English. The results showed that when dealing with KP allusions present in the ST which are absent from the TL, translators often resort to different strategies ranging from standard translation, minimum change, omission, replacement, reduction, recreation to the simulated familiarity strategies. The most frequently used strategies by the translators were standard translation, minimum change and omission. These strategies contribute to semantic, cultural, contextual, and literal translation of allusions. The researcher also found that the translations were subject to almost all different strategies except use of footnotes strategy. This thesis also made a comparison between the first translation and the second one to find out which one is more standard than the other with respect to the translation of intertextual references. The second translation of Mantiq ut- Tair by Darbandi and Davis to some extent was more literal than the first translation by Nott. Therefore, other factors such as familiarity with Islamic culture, verses, traditions and the translators’ ideas for which the translations are carried out are needed to explain the translator’s choice of different strategies. The findings of the study suggested that due to the fact that KP allusions and intertextuality are more complicated issues, only Nott could successfully transfer the intended meaning of the original poetry text in Mantiq ut-Tair to TL reader.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List of Abbreviations