Dr. Shaju Ouseph | Arab Open University - Saudi Arabia (original) (raw)
Papers by Dr. Shaju Ouseph
The history of African-American literature is undoubtedly connected with the history of slavery. ... more The history of African-American literature is undoubtedly connected with the history of slavery. It primarily protests against racial discrimination, marginalization and social injustice. At the beginning of the twentieth century, African-American writers faced a plethora of serious issues: race and class inequality; challenges to morality and religion; interrogations of nationalism and the continuing problem of how to achieve a truly African-American identity in the face of complicating diversity. The quest for a distinct African-American identity leads to the development of several recurring themes like rebirth and renewal, the “self-made man,” and the melting pot that have circulated in American literature since its inception. The African-Americans have occupied a paradoxical place of simultaneous inclusion and exclusion in the history of national literature. Although they are indeed Americans and have played a crucial role in building the United States into a world power, the le...
European Scientific Journal, Jul 5, 2014
Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been undergoing incremental change over the past decade with... more Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been undergoing incremental change over the past decade with the rapid flow of globalization and internationalization. At the surface level, the ODL platform seems to be volatile as greater challenges lie behind the pillars of open learning that ensures quality, flexibility and sustainability to its applicants. At the same time, it has become a promising alternative to the traditional classroom learning, helping university to move toward a vision of lifelong and on-demand learning. This paper aims at building a collaborative business model that can be adapted in an ODL setting keeping in mind the institution, students and stakeholders. It intends to identify effective management and efficient leadership who will be flagship in taking Open University into new heights. The objective is obvious as to make an analysis of anticipated variables of change, challenges, hindrances, facilitation, environment, and technology at ODL for the next decade. Accordingly, strategies are to be framed and effective policies are to be drawn through collaborative approach of leader and management-"an heuristic thought process". It will also delineate the new trends in education management with special reference to ODL. This study is futuristic but the approach is empirical, with a vision of bringing competitive edge to education for all. As for methodology, the researchers sought opinions of various stakeholders in education and analyzed the priorities to be set in this area. The paradigm shift is from tutor to content and to learner where learning is taking place in a wider perspective with openness to creativity, novelty of ideas, active participation of the learner and stakeholder. ODL has to create a learning environment, coping with the challenges of technological developments involving digitalization and processing of information, emergence of new wave of economies, demographics and ageing population, changes in society and family structures. This necessitates fostering strong rapport between facilitator and learner with a robust support and encouragement of authentic/open leadership.
Received: October 07, 2018 Accepted: October 17, 2018 Published: November 30, 2018 Volume: 1 Issu... more Received: October 07, 2018 Accepted: October 17, 2018 Published: November 30, 2018 Volume: 1 Issue: 4 DOI: 10.32996/ijllt.2018.1.4.13 Autobiography has been recognized as distinct literary genre, a challenging space for critical controversies about a range of ideas including authorship, selfhood, representation and the separation between fact and fiction. The representation of life accomplished by the writers enable them to construct a vivid perspective of their ‘self’ with myriad of memories. Meena Alexander’s Fault Lines: A Memoir (2003), an expanded edition of autobiography in the cross-cultural memoir series is probably one of the most authentic life stories written by a South Asian American writer at the turn of the twenty first century. When it was first published, this autobiography was chosen as one of Publishers Weekly’s “Best Books of 1993”. It traces her gradual evolution as a postcolonial writer from a privileged and protected childhood in India, her turbulent adolescenc...
The inclusion of distance learning methodology into mainstream education depends primarily on pro... more The inclusion of distance learning methodology into mainstream education depends primarily on providing learners with equivalent learning experiences erasing geographical boundaries. One of its challenges is the degree to which it facilitates a learning experience equal to or better than traditional-face-to-face instruction. Using effective instructional methodologies and innovative technical support, ODL can offer high student satisfaction in all dimensions. Abstract Technological advancements have given rise to unprecedented changes in ODL that facilitates experiential learning at a distance, integrating formal education into the fabric of everyday life. Most of these changes are aimed at increasing access to education for everyone ensuring utmost student satisfaction. The successful absorption of distance learning methodology into mainstream education depends primarily on providing learners with equivalent learning experiences no matter where they are located. The DE universities have created an online learning environment where learning is fostered and promoted by effective technological backup. This paper addresses certain challenges existing in the field of ODL and solutions recommended from the experience of using blended learning strategy as a successful teaching methodology for students in the Arab world. One of the biggest challenges in DE lies in the degree to which it facilitates a learning experience equal to or better than traditional-face-to-face instruction. Students who turn to DE have specific goals and they are motivated to accomplish the desired learning outcomes. Learning effectiveness is an important concern for distance learners. Every learning experience has its corresponding or implied learning outcomes. Distance learners, irrespective of gender, are adults and employed who choose this pace of learning suitable to the environment of their work and availability of their time. They exert greater demands and pressure on the tutor by way of seeking maximum input/information within the constraints of limited face-to-face tutorial sessions. At the same time, they are convinced of their responsibility of independent/self-learning. Subsequent to their tutors, they rely on advanced technology to develop their skills and expertise in addition to discovering facts and gathering information. 1 The present generation of distant learners is more ambitious and consumer-oriented. This is because, most of them tend to be older and have family commitments. Education is just one phase of their complicated lives. As they expend a great deal of their time and money, it is imperative that their needs are satisfied. In addition to these, convenience and time management are of high importance to them. Using effective instructional methodologies and innovative technical support, ODL offers high student satisfaction in all dimensions. Moreover, the fact that the ODL centres face stiff competition from the local market, they find it absolutely essential to give priority to the satisfaction of their potential customers. By creating a blended learning environment and employing diverse set of tools, enhanced learning effectiveness and student contentment is possible.
Children's literature is never politically or ideologically neutral. Although childhood is an apo... more Children's literature is never politically or ideologically neutral. Although childhood is an apolitical and asexual period of time, children's literature is ideological and based on implicit or explicit attitudes, assumptions and world views. It has been harnessed to topical or ideologically motivated causes like abolition of slavery and predicament of working-class during industrial revolution, to more controversial and current trends in the proliferation of science fiction. Following this line of great tradition, Jamila Gavin (1941-), a British author of Children's Literature, mines an authentic episode of British social history in her epic story, The Surya Trilogy. She reveals the contrast between the city life and that of country estates, the wealthy class with the poverty-stricken in the light of contemporary discourse on ideology. As an inheritor of two rich cultures, sharing " half and half " , Gavin depicts the fortunes of two generations of a family showing the impact of colonial rule and the horrors of partition in their lives. The aim of this paper is to examine how cultural debates on ideology and power find its space in Coram Boy and The Surya Trilogy, which appeared in the third golden age of Children's literature. There are many competing ideologies around childhood, role and status of children and purposes of literature for them. The questions of whether literature should entertain or instruct is an ideological one, as is the questions of what children should learn through literature. The literature for children has always been implicitly or explicitly ideological, presenting and promoting particular ideas about childhood and encouraging children to either uphold or challenge particular values. Although some eighteenth-and late nineteenth-century writing for children, mostly rhymes, still survive as old favourites, the fiction that has retained classic status for children mostly dates from second half of nineteenth century, marking the dawn of the First
A teacher has generally been considered “an educational authority” and a “dispenser of knowledge”... more A teacher has generally been considered “an educational authority” and a “dispenser of knowledge”. However, with the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the classroom, knowledge resources have become accessible to the student in ways that are beyond teacher’s control. Given the fact that the students are generally conceived as “digital natives” or “screen generation,” the teachers’ traditional role has been reconsidered by educational researchers. This study attempts to investigate EFL teachers’ role in integrating these new models of learning in their pedagogical practices while confronting the classroom of millennium learners. Teachers all over the world hold virtual office hours on social networking sites like Facebook, Ning, and Twitter. They post assignments and run discussions through ePals, Viber and Skype.
ELT professionals and educators endeavor to seek ways to make different tools available for students to be involved in their learning. Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has played a vital role in the language learning context of both synchronous and asynchronous modes. New tools such as mobile phones, podcasts and social networking have emerged in the field to have their effect on the learning mode. Online and Blended learning has proved to be a vital tool for increasing learners’ motivation and satisfaction.
Keywords: CALL, MALL, Social Networking, digital culture, virtual presence, digital natives
This paper aims at projecting a conceptual development of translation theory and the quintessenti... more This paper aims at projecting a conceptual development of translation theory and the quintessential changes it has undergone in the recent past. For a long period, the questions with which the translation scholars busied themselves were rather clichéd, unproductive, essentialist, source-oriented and over simplified in nature. This approach towards translation sounds overly naïve in as much as it fails to address the inherent politics which generates the process of intercultural transfer- a cultural turn- in translation studies. This cultural assertion has an implied fundamental premise that ‘translation is a power relation’ and translators use different strategies and established hierarchies for transmitting and translating cultures. There are translators who hold the texts as different entities and merges them into a third space which offers hybridity of cultures, a space where differences are valued and respected. Others use internet search engines, google word for word or literal translation resulting in a completely altered original text.
The translation process openly throws diverse prospects for a translator and he is bound to choose from the options available. The field of this debate is definitely limited but the possibilities of interpretation are infinite. A translator can be an interpreter or an intruder, a messenger or a carrier, a source modifier or can even possess an invisible identity. The position of translator into the various domains of translation process problematizes the dynamics of Source Language (SL) and Target Language (TL) text relations in the discourse of translation studies.
Key words: intercultural transfer, interpretation, hybridity, source modifier, google
This paper aims to outline various issues and strategies related to teaching English to adult lea... more This paper aims to outline various issues and strategies related to teaching English to adult learners of different age groups in the Arab Open University, KSA. at present, English language learning is highly demanded in the higher education settings, especially in the Middle East. As an open learning institution, AOU-KSA has students from all walks of life and most of them are either employed or run their own businesses. They are well aware that language competency is essential for their career prospects and gives them more confidence to meet the challenges of today's world. Disregarding their age or gender, they flock to the centers of language learning and commit themselves for mastering innovative language skills. As an example, findings of a survey conducted for students at English Department, Arab Open University KSA are discussed. It intends to find out some common factors in language learning process and assess the methodology and technology employed in language teaching. It looks into a set of integrated courses in accordance with a dynamically evolving plan of study and associated learning mechanisms. Survey method is employed and the sample consisted of 150 students (84 Females and 66 Males) who are enrolled in ELL Programme for the academic Year 2010-2011. After distributing questionnaires, students' responses are recorded and monitored closely. For data collection, 15 questions were posed to the students. After analyzing students' responses, the findings of the study are discussed.
The process of L 2 acquisition, unlike that of mother tongue, is intimately linked to the cogniti... more The process of L 2 acquisition, unlike that of mother tongue, is intimately linked to the cognitive development of the children. It is widely accepted that learning occurs when the mind makes connections between what it already knows and new, hitherto unknown items of information, i.e. that knowledge is constructed by the use of thinking processes—the 'cognitive' theory of learning. Empirical evidences show that virtually all children learn their native language at a time in life when they would not be expected to learn anything else so complicated. Children successfully master the basic structure of their native language in a variety of conditions: caring /loving or abusive/rejecting. Children seem to accomplish to complex tasks of language acquisition without having someone consistently point out to them which of the sentences they hear and produce are 'correct' and which are 'ungrammatical'. Certain factors like 'learner characteristics' and 'learner conditions' affect the process of second language learning. Learner characteristics include knowledge of another language, cognitive maturity (CALP), metalinguistic awareness, and knowledge of the world. The kind of L 2 proficiency required to engage effectively in academic study is known as Cognitive Academic Linguistic Proficiency (CALP). Learning conditions like freedom to be silent, ample time, corrective feedback and modified input are necessary for the acquisition of language. ELT activities which encourage active mental processing have become increasingly common. However, there is evidence that the use of such activities has still not become widespread in a number of ELT situations. One reason for this may be lack of awareness about how levels of thinking can be conceptualized in ELT activities. This is an attempt to clarify the types of thinking that ELT activities can promote, and how they can be integrated in a basic
Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been undergoing incremental change over the past decade with... more Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been undergoing incremental change over the past decade with the rapid flow of globalization and internationalization. At the surface level, the ODL platform seems to be volatile as greater challenges lie behind the pillars of open learning that ensures quality, flexibility and sustainability to its applicants. At the same time, it has become a promising alternative to the traditional classroom learning, helping university to move toward a vision of lifelong and on-demand learning. This paper aims at building a collaborative business model that can be adapted in an ODL setting keeping in mind the institution, students and stakeholders. It intends to identify effective management and efficient leadership who will be flagship in taking Open University into new heights. The objective is obvious as to make an analysis of anticipated variables of change, challenges, hindrances, facilitation, environment, and technology at ODL for the next decade. Accordingly, strategies are to be framed and effective policies are to be drawn through collaborative approach of leader and management-" an heuristic thought process ". It will also delineate the new trends in education management with special reference to ODL. This study is futuristic but the approach is empirical, with a vision of bringing competitive edge to education for all. As for methodology, the researchers sought opinions of various stakeholders in education and analyzed the priorities to be set in this area. The paradigm shift is from tutor to content and to learner where learning is taking place in a wider perspective with openness to creativity, novelty of ideas, active participation of the learner and stakeholder. ODL has to create a learning environment, coping with the challenges of technological developments involving digitalization and processing of information, emergence of new wave of economies, demographics and ageing population, changes in society and family structures. This necessitates fostering strong rapport between facilitator and learner with a robust support and encouragement of authentic/open leadership.
The history of African-American literature is undoubtedly connected with the history of slavery. ... more The history of African-American literature is undoubtedly connected with the history of slavery. It primarily protests against racial discrimination, marginalization and social injustice. At the beginning of the twentieth century, African-American writers faced a plethora of serious issues: race and class inequality; challenges to morality and religion; interrogations of nationalism and the continuing problem of how to achieve a truly African-American identity in the face of complicating diversity. The quest for a distinct African-American identity leads to the development of several recurring themes like rebirth and renewal, the “self-made man,” and the melting pot that have circulated in American literature since its inception. The African-Americans have occupied a paradoxical place of simultaneous inclusion and exclusion in the history of national literature. Although they are indeed Americans and have played a crucial role in building the United States into a world power, the le...
European Scientific Journal, Jul 5, 2014
Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been undergoing incremental change over the past decade with... more Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been undergoing incremental change over the past decade with the rapid flow of globalization and internationalization. At the surface level, the ODL platform seems to be volatile as greater challenges lie behind the pillars of open learning that ensures quality, flexibility and sustainability to its applicants. At the same time, it has become a promising alternative to the traditional classroom learning, helping university to move toward a vision of lifelong and on-demand learning. This paper aims at building a collaborative business model that can be adapted in an ODL setting keeping in mind the institution, students and stakeholders. It intends to identify effective management and efficient leadership who will be flagship in taking Open University into new heights. The objective is obvious as to make an analysis of anticipated variables of change, challenges, hindrances, facilitation, environment, and technology at ODL for the next decade. Accordingly, strategies are to be framed and effective policies are to be drawn through collaborative approach of leader and management-"an heuristic thought process". It will also delineate the new trends in education management with special reference to ODL. This study is futuristic but the approach is empirical, with a vision of bringing competitive edge to education for all. As for methodology, the researchers sought opinions of various stakeholders in education and analyzed the priorities to be set in this area. The paradigm shift is from tutor to content and to learner where learning is taking place in a wider perspective with openness to creativity, novelty of ideas, active participation of the learner and stakeholder. ODL has to create a learning environment, coping with the challenges of technological developments involving digitalization and processing of information, emergence of new wave of economies, demographics and ageing population, changes in society and family structures. This necessitates fostering strong rapport between facilitator and learner with a robust support and encouragement of authentic/open leadership.
Received: October 07, 2018 Accepted: October 17, 2018 Published: November 30, 2018 Volume: 1 Issu... more Received: October 07, 2018 Accepted: October 17, 2018 Published: November 30, 2018 Volume: 1 Issue: 4 DOI: 10.32996/ijllt.2018.1.4.13 Autobiography has been recognized as distinct literary genre, a challenging space for critical controversies about a range of ideas including authorship, selfhood, representation and the separation between fact and fiction. The representation of life accomplished by the writers enable them to construct a vivid perspective of their ‘self’ with myriad of memories. Meena Alexander’s Fault Lines: A Memoir (2003), an expanded edition of autobiography in the cross-cultural memoir series is probably one of the most authentic life stories written by a South Asian American writer at the turn of the twenty first century. When it was first published, this autobiography was chosen as one of Publishers Weekly’s “Best Books of 1993”. It traces her gradual evolution as a postcolonial writer from a privileged and protected childhood in India, her turbulent adolescenc...
The inclusion of distance learning methodology into mainstream education depends primarily on pro... more The inclusion of distance learning methodology into mainstream education depends primarily on providing learners with equivalent learning experiences erasing geographical boundaries. One of its challenges is the degree to which it facilitates a learning experience equal to or better than traditional-face-to-face instruction. Using effective instructional methodologies and innovative technical support, ODL can offer high student satisfaction in all dimensions. Abstract Technological advancements have given rise to unprecedented changes in ODL that facilitates experiential learning at a distance, integrating formal education into the fabric of everyday life. Most of these changes are aimed at increasing access to education for everyone ensuring utmost student satisfaction. The successful absorption of distance learning methodology into mainstream education depends primarily on providing learners with equivalent learning experiences no matter where they are located. The DE universities have created an online learning environment where learning is fostered and promoted by effective technological backup. This paper addresses certain challenges existing in the field of ODL and solutions recommended from the experience of using blended learning strategy as a successful teaching methodology for students in the Arab world. One of the biggest challenges in DE lies in the degree to which it facilitates a learning experience equal to or better than traditional-face-to-face instruction. Students who turn to DE have specific goals and they are motivated to accomplish the desired learning outcomes. Learning effectiveness is an important concern for distance learners. Every learning experience has its corresponding or implied learning outcomes. Distance learners, irrespective of gender, are adults and employed who choose this pace of learning suitable to the environment of their work and availability of their time. They exert greater demands and pressure on the tutor by way of seeking maximum input/information within the constraints of limited face-to-face tutorial sessions. At the same time, they are convinced of their responsibility of independent/self-learning. Subsequent to their tutors, they rely on advanced technology to develop their skills and expertise in addition to discovering facts and gathering information. 1 The present generation of distant learners is more ambitious and consumer-oriented. This is because, most of them tend to be older and have family commitments. Education is just one phase of their complicated lives. As they expend a great deal of their time and money, it is imperative that their needs are satisfied. In addition to these, convenience and time management are of high importance to them. Using effective instructional methodologies and innovative technical support, ODL offers high student satisfaction in all dimensions. Moreover, the fact that the ODL centres face stiff competition from the local market, they find it absolutely essential to give priority to the satisfaction of their potential customers. By creating a blended learning environment and employing diverse set of tools, enhanced learning effectiveness and student contentment is possible.
Children's literature is never politically or ideologically neutral. Although childhood is an apo... more Children's literature is never politically or ideologically neutral. Although childhood is an apolitical and asexual period of time, children's literature is ideological and based on implicit or explicit attitudes, assumptions and world views. It has been harnessed to topical or ideologically motivated causes like abolition of slavery and predicament of working-class during industrial revolution, to more controversial and current trends in the proliferation of science fiction. Following this line of great tradition, Jamila Gavin (1941-), a British author of Children's Literature, mines an authentic episode of British social history in her epic story, The Surya Trilogy. She reveals the contrast between the city life and that of country estates, the wealthy class with the poverty-stricken in the light of contemporary discourse on ideology. As an inheritor of two rich cultures, sharing " half and half " , Gavin depicts the fortunes of two generations of a family showing the impact of colonial rule and the horrors of partition in their lives. The aim of this paper is to examine how cultural debates on ideology and power find its space in Coram Boy and The Surya Trilogy, which appeared in the third golden age of Children's literature. There are many competing ideologies around childhood, role and status of children and purposes of literature for them. The questions of whether literature should entertain or instruct is an ideological one, as is the questions of what children should learn through literature. The literature for children has always been implicitly or explicitly ideological, presenting and promoting particular ideas about childhood and encouraging children to either uphold or challenge particular values. Although some eighteenth-and late nineteenth-century writing for children, mostly rhymes, still survive as old favourites, the fiction that has retained classic status for children mostly dates from second half of nineteenth century, marking the dawn of the First
A teacher has generally been considered “an educational authority” and a “dispenser of knowledge”... more A teacher has generally been considered “an educational authority” and a “dispenser of knowledge”. However, with the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the classroom, knowledge resources have become accessible to the student in ways that are beyond teacher’s control. Given the fact that the students are generally conceived as “digital natives” or “screen generation,” the teachers’ traditional role has been reconsidered by educational researchers. This study attempts to investigate EFL teachers’ role in integrating these new models of learning in their pedagogical practices while confronting the classroom of millennium learners. Teachers all over the world hold virtual office hours on social networking sites like Facebook, Ning, and Twitter. They post assignments and run discussions through ePals, Viber and Skype.
ELT professionals and educators endeavor to seek ways to make different tools available for students to be involved in their learning. Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has played a vital role in the language learning context of both synchronous and asynchronous modes. New tools such as mobile phones, podcasts and social networking have emerged in the field to have their effect on the learning mode. Online and Blended learning has proved to be a vital tool for increasing learners’ motivation and satisfaction.
Keywords: CALL, MALL, Social Networking, digital culture, virtual presence, digital natives
This paper aims at projecting a conceptual development of translation theory and the quintessenti... more This paper aims at projecting a conceptual development of translation theory and the quintessential changes it has undergone in the recent past. For a long period, the questions with which the translation scholars busied themselves were rather clichéd, unproductive, essentialist, source-oriented and over simplified in nature. This approach towards translation sounds overly naïve in as much as it fails to address the inherent politics which generates the process of intercultural transfer- a cultural turn- in translation studies. This cultural assertion has an implied fundamental premise that ‘translation is a power relation’ and translators use different strategies and established hierarchies for transmitting and translating cultures. There are translators who hold the texts as different entities and merges them into a third space which offers hybridity of cultures, a space where differences are valued and respected. Others use internet search engines, google word for word or literal translation resulting in a completely altered original text.
The translation process openly throws diverse prospects for a translator and he is bound to choose from the options available. The field of this debate is definitely limited but the possibilities of interpretation are infinite. A translator can be an interpreter or an intruder, a messenger or a carrier, a source modifier or can even possess an invisible identity. The position of translator into the various domains of translation process problematizes the dynamics of Source Language (SL) and Target Language (TL) text relations in the discourse of translation studies.
Key words: intercultural transfer, interpretation, hybridity, source modifier, google
This paper aims to outline various issues and strategies related to teaching English to adult lea... more This paper aims to outline various issues and strategies related to teaching English to adult learners of different age groups in the Arab Open University, KSA. at present, English language learning is highly demanded in the higher education settings, especially in the Middle East. As an open learning institution, AOU-KSA has students from all walks of life and most of them are either employed or run their own businesses. They are well aware that language competency is essential for their career prospects and gives them more confidence to meet the challenges of today's world. Disregarding their age or gender, they flock to the centers of language learning and commit themselves for mastering innovative language skills. As an example, findings of a survey conducted for students at English Department, Arab Open University KSA are discussed. It intends to find out some common factors in language learning process and assess the methodology and technology employed in language teaching. It looks into a set of integrated courses in accordance with a dynamically evolving plan of study and associated learning mechanisms. Survey method is employed and the sample consisted of 150 students (84 Females and 66 Males) who are enrolled in ELL Programme for the academic Year 2010-2011. After distributing questionnaires, students' responses are recorded and monitored closely. For data collection, 15 questions were posed to the students. After analyzing students' responses, the findings of the study are discussed.
The process of L 2 acquisition, unlike that of mother tongue, is intimately linked to the cogniti... more The process of L 2 acquisition, unlike that of mother tongue, is intimately linked to the cognitive development of the children. It is widely accepted that learning occurs when the mind makes connections between what it already knows and new, hitherto unknown items of information, i.e. that knowledge is constructed by the use of thinking processes—the 'cognitive' theory of learning. Empirical evidences show that virtually all children learn their native language at a time in life when they would not be expected to learn anything else so complicated. Children successfully master the basic structure of their native language in a variety of conditions: caring /loving or abusive/rejecting. Children seem to accomplish to complex tasks of language acquisition without having someone consistently point out to them which of the sentences they hear and produce are 'correct' and which are 'ungrammatical'. Certain factors like 'learner characteristics' and 'learner conditions' affect the process of second language learning. Learner characteristics include knowledge of another language, cognitive maturity (CALP), metalinguistic awareness, and knowledge of the world. The kind of L 2 proficiency required to engage effectively in academic study is known as Cognitive Academic Linguistic Proficiency (CALP). Learning conditions like freedom to be silent, ample time, corrective feedback and modified input are necessary for the acquisition of language. ELT activities which encourage active mental processing have become increasingly common. However, there is evidence that the use of such activities has still not become widespread in a number of ELT situations. One reason for this may be lack of awareness about how levels of thinking can be conceptualized in ELT activities. This is an attempt to clarify the types of thinking that ELT activities can promote, and how they can be integrated in a basic
Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been undergoing incremental change over the past decade with... more Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been undergoing incremental change over the past decade with the rapid flow of globalization and internationalization. At the surface level, the ODL platform seems to be volatile as greater challenges lie behind the pillars of open learning that ensures quality, flexibility and sustainability to its applicants. At the same time, it has become a promising alternative to the traditional classroom learning, helping university to move toward a vision of lifelong and on-demand learning. This paper aims at building a collaborative business model that can be adapted in an ODL setting keeping in mind the institution, students and stakeholders. It intends to identify effective management and efficient leadership who will be flagship in taking Open University into new heights. The objective is obvious as to make an analysis of anticipated variables of change, challenges, hindrances, facilitation, environment, and technology at ODL for the next decade. Accordingly, strategies are to be framed and effective policies are to be drawn through collaborative approach of leader and management-" an heuristic thought process ". It will also delineate the new trends in education management with special reference to ODL. This study is futuristic but the approach is empirical, with a vision of bringing competitive edge to education for all. As for methodology, the researchers sought opinions of various stakeholders in education and analyzed the priorities to be set in this area. The paradigm shift is from tutor to content and to learner where learning is taking place in a wider perspective with openness to creativity, novelty of ideas, active participation of the learner and stakeholder. ODL has to create a learning environment, coping with the challenges of technological developments involving digitalization and processing of information, emergence of new wave of economies, demographics and ageing population, changes in society and family structures. This necessitates fostering strong rapport between facilitator and learner with a robust support and encouragement of authentic/open leadership.